from Suzanne that she was still in Lenox, and
then that her mother had gone to Boston for a day or two on a visit. The
fifth day Colfax stepped into his office, and, hailing him pleasantly,
sat down.

"Well, how are things with you, old man?" he asked.

"Oh, about the same," said Eugene. "I can't complain."

"Everything going all right with you?"

"Yes, moderately so."

"People don't usually butt in on you here when I'm here, do they?" he
asked curiously.

"I've given orders against anything like that, but I'll make it doubly
sure in this case," said Eugene, alert at once. Could Colfax be going to
talk to him about anything in connection with his case? He paled a
little.

Colfax looked out of the window at the distant panorama of the Hudson.
He took out a cigar, and cut the end, but did not light it.

"I asked you about not being interrupted," he began thoughtfully,
"because I have a little something I want to talk to you about, which I
would rather no one else heard. Mrs. Dale came to me the other day," he
said quietly. Eugene started at the mention of her name and paled still
more, but gave no other outward sign. "And she told me a long story
about something that you were trying to do in connection with her
daughter--run away with her, or go and live with her without a license
or a divorce, or desert your wife, or something to that effect, which I
didn't pay much attention to, but which I have to talk to you about just
the same. Now, I never like to meddle with a man's personal affairs. I
don't think that they concern me. I don't think they concern this
business, except in so far as they may affect it unfavorably, but I
would like to know if it is true. Is it?"

"Yes," said Eugene.

"Mrs. Dale is an old friend of mine. I've known her for years. I know
Mrs. Witla, of course, but not quite in the same way. I haven't seen as
much of her as I have of you. I didn't know that you were unhappily
married, but that is neither here nor there. The point is, that she
seems to be on the verge of making a great scandal out of this--she
seems a little distracted to me--and I thought I'd better come up and
have a little talk with you before anything serious really happened. You
know it would be a rather damaging thing to this business if any scandal
were started in connection with you just at present."

He paused, expecting some protest or explanation, but Eugene merely held
his peace. He was tense, pale, harried. So s