ry
tall man; that was the reason I could see him so well in the subway. He
has a good face--a really wonderful face--"

Mr. Neal hesitated a moment, realizing that he had been led to reveal
his secret to one who might not understand.

Pity came into the old gentleman's eyes.

"Ah," he said, and nodded. "If I could be of any help to you--Would you
come in?"

"Didn't he come in here, really? Hasn't a tall man been here?"

"Nobody is here, sir, but us. But if I could do anything for you, I'd be
glad to."

Mr. Neal saw that the old gentleman thought he was dealing with a
demented man; he saw, too, that the denial was an honest one.

"Thank you," said Mr. Neal. "No. I must be going. I am very sorry I
troubled you."

The old man bade him a cheery good-night, but he looked after Mr. Neal
in solicitude as the clerk went slowly down the steps.

The air was bitter cold outside, and Mr. Neal realized for the first
time that he did not have his overcoat. He shivered.

Hunching his shoulders up against the blast, he hurried back to the
subway.

Heartbreaking though his disappointment was, Mr. Neal was not
embittered. There was one thing that he knew now beyond all cavil or
doubt: he knew that he should find the man with the good face. He knew
that he should eventually meet him somewhere, sometime, and come to know
him. How Mr. Neal longed for that time words cannot describe, but his
settled faith that his desire would one day be fulfilled kept him
tranquil and happy. Why should he be impatient? Perhaps today, or
tomorrow--perhaps in this car he was entering, perhaps just around the
next corner--he would see the face.

"It will be soon," he would say to himself. "I know it will be soon."

The beggars in front of the Imperial building came to know the little
clerk and thank him in advance for his alms. The elevator men and the
newsies came to watch for him. Mr. Neal himself took an interest in
everybody. He formed the habit of watching crowds wherever they were
greatest, partly because thereby his chance of discovering the face was
enhanced, and partly because crowds thrilled him. What a tremendous mass
of emotions--hopes, fears, ambitions, joys, sorrows--were in these
thousand faces swirling about him in ceaseless tide! They were all
individuals; that was the wonder of it! All were individuals with
personalities of their own, with their own lives to live and their own
problems to think out. He would like to help them