iott," he said, "that the solution of
all the difficulties, which he chooses to view as gloriously romantic
tilts with Destiny, depends one-half upon luck, and the other half on
being on the ground personally, when the--affair--starts." He half
faced toward Allison. "I am O'Mara," he finished very briefly, "your
man, O'Mara--if you happen to be the East Coast Development and Timber
Company?"

There was at most no more than the barest suggestion of it in Steve's
crisp question, but Caleb sensed immediately that Allison's placid
appropriation of the blue flannel-shirted one as his own particular
property was not a mutually accepted status. Dexter, however, failed,
or chose, to read nothing in the drawling question.

"I'm it," he agreed, jovially. "That is--I and two or three others,
including Mr. Elliott, our esteemed president."

He mounted the steps heavily and stood contemplating the small hand
still within the larger, browner one.

"The introductions seem to have outstripped me," he remarked,
"but--er--any objection to shaking hands with me, too, Mr. O'Mara?"

Stephen laughed aloud. Allison's attempted lugubrity was really funny.
From the door Barbara echoed his laughter in bubbling, throaty
amusement at it all.

"Poor, blind papa!" she chanted mockingly, and disappeared on swift
feet.

Allison scowled after her.

"Not so blind as some--the unprincipled jade!" he retorted. "But
that's another thing I've heard about you, Mr. O'Mara, if you will
pardon a garrulous old gossip's personalities. They tell me that you
aren't particularly--susceptible?"

And then the bantering tone was dropped entirely. In the rest of
Allison's greeting was all that Caleb found most lovable in the man's
whole make-up--his proneness to accept men as men, for what they had
done or might do, in a man's world.

"I've heard much of you, Mr. O'Mara; I've looked forward to this
meeting," he said, as he shook hands. "Now I want to tell you that I
am proud to know you. And so you didn't get my message, after all?"

The handclasp left Allison staring ruefully at his reddened fingers.
Steve shook his head.

"I had to come down river, yesterday," he explained. "Your telegram
found me here, and I waited over until this morning, as you suggested."

"Surely . . . surely! I see . . . I see!" Allison emphasized his
comprehension. "Not that it was anything of vital importance. I just
wanted a short conference with you, yourself,