involved in Block Copper, angry, but not very
much frightened, turned in casual good faith to Neergard to ease matters
until he could cover. And Neergard locked him in the tighter and
shouldered his way through Rosamund's drawing-room to the sill of Sanxon
Orchil's outer office, treading brutally on Harmon's heels.

Harmon in disgust, wrath, and fear went to Craig; Craig to Maxwell
Hunt; Hunt wired Mottly; Mottly, cold and sleek in his contempt, came
from Palm Beach.

The cohesive power of caste is an unknown element to the outsider.

That he had unwittingly and prematurely aroused some unsuspected force
on which he had not counted and of which he had no definite knowledge
was revealed to Neergard when he desired Rosamund to obtain for him an
invitation to the Orchils' ball.

It appeared that she could not do so--that even the threatened tendency
of Block Copper could not sharpen her wits to devise a way for him. Very
innocently she told him that Jack Ruthven was leading the Chinese
Cotillon with Mrs. Delmour-Carnes from one end, Gerald Erroll with
Gladys from the other--a hint that a card ought to be easy enough to
obtain in spite of the strangely forgetful Orchils.

Long since he had fixed upon Gladys Orchil as the most suitable silent
partner for the unbuilt house of Neergard, unconcerned that rumour was
already sending her abroad for the double purpose of getting rid of
Gerald and of giving deserving aristocracy a look-in at the fresh youth
of her and her selling price.

Nothing, so far, had checked his progress; why should rumour? Elbow and
money had shoved him on and on, shoulder-deep where his thin nose
pointed, crowding aside and out of his way whatever was made to be
crowded out; and going around, hat off, whatever remained arrogantly
immovable.

So he had come, on various occasions, close to the unruffled skirts of
this young girl--not yet, however, in her own house. But Sanxon Orchil
had recently condescended to turn around in his office chair and leave
his amusing railroad combinations long enough to divide with Neergard a
quarter of a million copper profits; and there was another turn to be
expected when Neergard gave the word.

Therefore, it puzzled and confused Neergard to be overlooked where the
gay world had been summoned with an accompanying blast from the public
press; therefore he had gone to Rosamund with the curtest of hints; but
he had remained, standing before her, checked, not condescen