"Thought you'd sworn off."

"I never did," said DeLancy obstinately.

"It's not my affair, Fred," said Bojo finally. "Only do go slow, old
fellow; we're neither of us great manipulators and what comes slowly,
goes with a rush."

"Honest, Bojo, I am careful," said Fred with a show of conviction. "No
more ten per cent. margins and no more wild-cat chances. If I buy, it's
on good information, no plunging."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, absolutely! I take the solemn oath!" said Fred with a face to
convince a meeting of theologians.

"And no margins?"

"Oh, conservative margins!"

"What do you call conservative?"

"Twenty-five points--twenty points naturally."

Bojo shook his head.

"What are you going to do, live here?"

"Of course not. We are looking around for an apartment for the Winter."

Bojo wanted to know what Louise intended, whether she had made up her
mind to leave the stage or not, but he did not know quite how to
approach the subject. As he studied DeLancy, he thought he looked
irrepressibly happy and indifferent to what lay ahead. He wondered if
Fred had made any approaches to his old friends with a view to their
accepting his wife.

"Will Louise stay here too?" he asked finally.

"Naturally."

"Is--is she giving up her career?" he said hesitatingly.

DeLancy looked rather embarrassed. He did not reply at first.

"I have left that to Louise herself. It's her decision. For the present
nothing is settled, not as yet."

Bojo felt the embarrassment that possessed him. He had come to ask a
score of questions. He started to leave with the feeling that he had
found out nothing. At the noise of his going, Louise came out of the
room with her hair down. Probably she had been listening. She said
good-by to him with extra cordiality, with an ironical look in her eyes.

"Mind you look us up after."

"Yes, yes."

Fred accompanied him to the elevator.

"As soon as we are settled we'll have a spree," he said with an attempt
at the old gaiety.

"Of course."

Bojo went off shrugging his shoulders, saying to himself, "Where will it
all end?"

During the Summer a marked change had come over industrial conditions, a
feeling of something ominous was in the air, a vague and undefined
threat impending. At the factory a fifth of the machines were idle and
Garnett was moodily contemplating a general reduction in salaries. Bojo
scarcely paid any attention to Wall Street matters now, but he knew that
the mov