s blaze up, "but he's getting too
insolent to put up with any longer."

His scowl deepened as he watched a word or phrase shine out in the
lapping flame, and remembered the context. "Damn you," he cried aloud,
whirling about and shaking his fist at the empty room. "I'll take no
orders from you! I'll force you back where you belong--and I'll do it
in my own way, too!"

CHAPTER VIII

DAYS OF STRESS

The little puff of popular interest in Felix Brand's disappearance and
in the charges against him soon disappeared, as some other sensation
of a day took its place in the newspaper headlines. People ceased
talking about the matter as suddenly as they had begun and Brand
congratulated himself that a bank failure, and then a mysterious
suicide, and after that an appalling dynamite explosion followed so
closely upon his return. He told himself that his own misadventure
would speedily be forgotten.

As the weeks went by he became more and more secure in that
conclusion. Hugh Gordon did not reappear. And as time passed on and no
official action was taken upon the investigating committee's report
the architect felt assured that the whole matter had sunk into an
oblivion which held no menace for him, and his spirit rose in
exultation.

Nor was this the only matter over whose outcome he had reason to be
satisfied. All his investments were doing well and his transactions in
stocks, during the weeks after his return, brought him money in one
good haul after another. And he secured the commission to design a new
capitol building for a western state for which there had been lively
competition among the most prominent architects of the country.

In her complete loyalty to her employer Henrietta Marne rejoiced to
see the harried look leaving his face and his former ease of manner
and good spirits return. Knowing, as she did, that his material and
professional affairs were fulfilling their earlier promise, she
attributed the improvement in his spirits to the apparent sinking out
of sight of the man who, she was convinced, had been responsible for
all his trouble.

A curious change in Brand's demeanor strengthened her in this
conjecture. Something of the spirit of triumph became manifest in his
air, his smile was self-confident and in his manner was the
assuredness of the man who has won some sort of victory.

His secretary, noting all this with observant but discreet eyes, said
to herself that undoubtedly it was all on a