of the third lap, he came to his bench again, his mind was made
up. Only details remained to be determined.

And when he rose for the last time from the bench, these were fixed. His
appearance was one of great calmness tense above a suppressed ebullition.
Before him his programme stretched like a broad, clear road. He followed
it.

Firstly he went to the bank and drew out three hundred dollars in cash.

With the roll in his breast-pocket, he walked up Broadway till he came to
a Cook's Tourist agency; entering, after a short discussion aided by the
perusal of a map, he exchanged part of his roll for a long, green,
accordeon-pleated ticket.

Then he went out and bought himself a tawny, creaky suit-case, and then,
successively, going from store to store:

Two collars.

A comb.

A neck-tie.

A tooth-brush.

A safety razor.

A little can of tooth-powder.

A shaving brush and a cake of soap.

A cap.

A pair of much abbreviated swimming trunks.

All of which he placed in his new suit-case.

Then after a moment of frowning consideration, he purchased two thick
woolen double-blankets which he rolled up and strapped.

After which he boldly strode into the Waldorf-Astoria.

Such affluence, by this time, did his person emanate that four
brass-buttoned boys simultaneously sprang to their feet and came running
up to him. He waved them aside with a commanding gesture and went into
the writing-room.

He opened his check-book. "3," he wrote firmly in the right hand corner.
"Pay to the order of," he read; "Dolly Margaret Sims," he wrote, "Four
hundred and eighty and no-hundredths dollars."

He signed the check, tore it off, and let the now looted check-book drop
negligently to the floor. He placed the folded check in an envelope,
wrote a little letter and placed it by the check, sealed the envelope,
and wrote upon it,

MRS. CHARLES NORTON SIMS
267 West 129th St.
New York

and rang for a messenger boy, to whom he gave the letter.

Then calling for a taxi-cab, he whizzed away to the Grand Central
station.

Ten minutes later, amid a ding-donging of bells and a roaring of steam,
a big, luxurious train began to strain at its couplings on its way
overland. As it slid slowly out beneath the resonant cupola,
Charles-Norton emerged from the rear door and stepped out upon the
observation platform.

And there, upon this wide, large platform, which was much like a
mini