o ever breathed." she replied.
"He was a conscientious objector during the war, a sex fanatic
since--Mr. Dartrey had to use all his influence to keep him out of
prison for writing those scurrulous articles in the Comet--and I think
he is one of the smallest-minded, most untrustworthy persons I ever met.
For some reason or other, Stephen Dartrey believes in him. He has a
wonderful talent for organization and a good deal of influence with the
trades unions.--By the by, it's all right about the muffins."

She rang the bell and ordered tea. Tallente glanced for a moment about
the room. The four walls were lined with well-filled bookcases, but the
mural decorations consisted--except for one wonderful nude figure, copy
of a well-known Rodin--of statistical charts and shaded maps. There
were only two signs of feminine occupation: an immense bowl of red
roses, rising with strange effect from the sea of manuscript, pamphlets,
and volumes of reference, and a wide, luxurious couch, drawn up to the
window, through which the tops of a little clump of lime trees were just
visible. As she turned back to him, he noticed with more complete
appreciation the lines of her ample but graceful figure, the more
remarkable because she was neither tall nor slim.

"So that was your wife at Claridge's yesterday afternoon?" she remarked,
a little abruptly.

He assented in silence. Her eyes sought his speculatively.

"I know that Lady Clanarton is a terrible gossip," she went on. "Was
she telling me the truth when she said that your married life was not an
entire success?"

"She was telling you the truth," Tallente admitted.

"I like to know everything," she suggested quietly. "You must remember
that we shall probably become intimates."

"I did my wife the injustice of marrying her for money," Tallente
explained. "She married me because she thought that I could provide her
with a social position such as she desired. Our marriage was a double
failure. I found no opportunity of making use of her money, and she was
discontented with the value she received for it. We have within the
last few days agreed to separate. Now you know everything," he added,
with a little smile, "and curiously enough, considering the brevity of
our acquaintance, you know it before anybody else in the world except
one person."

She smiled.

"I like to know everything about the people I am interested in," she
admitted. "Besides, your story sounds so quaint. It seems t