nd. The afternoon was now well advanced. The crowds had
begun to dispense. There was more breathing space in the passages. For
the time being the rush was over and Virginia sat back in her chair,
glad of a moment's respite after the busy day. She saw nothing and
heard nothing of the commotion all around her. The noise and the
crowds in the hotel lobby did not exist for her. Her thoughts, in
spite of herself, were far away, with the man who before God's altar
had solemnly promised to shield and protect her, and then permitted
her to go out alone in the cold, unsympathetic world to earn her own
living as best she could, without even making an effort to find how or
where she was. With all his faults, she had always thought Robert
kind-hearted. Why, then, should he have treated her in this cruel,
heartless, indifferent manner? A man's voice suddenly aroused her from
her words. In a cold, business-like tone it said:

"Are you busy? I have some letters to dictate."

Instantly aroused to a sense of her duties, Virginia sat up with a
start. Without looking up, accustomed to be at the beck and call of
the first stranger who came along, she said wearily:

"No, I'm not busy. I'll take the dictation."

The newcomer sat down at her desk. Virginia slipped a piece of paper
into her machine and was ready to begin. Suddenly the man uttered an
exclamation. She looked up and nearly fell from her chair.

"Mr. Hadley!" she exclaimed.

It was her husband's most intimate friend. Chance had brought him to
the hotel and having some business letters to write, he had stopped at
the desk of the first stenographer who appeared to be unoccupied. When
he saw who the young operator was he could scarcely believe his eyes.
With a gesture of the greatest concern, he exclaimed:

"Mrs. Stafford! You here?"

She smiled sadly.

"Yes. I've been here some time, ever since--" She stopped short, not
knowing how much he might know of her difference with her husband. As
yet the world knew nothing of the scandal that had shattered a home
and as far as she was concerned it never would. After a pause she
added timidly: "You see I am not rich--I have to support myself."

Hadley leaned forward and sympathetically grasped her hand. He had
always liked Virginia. Her womanliness and spirit appealed strongly to
him. Stafford had treated her like a brute. He ought never to have let
her go. Many a time he had berated his friend for what he termed his
pigheaded ob