The Market-Place

remained on the field-sitting alone

rection. He held at his mercy everything within sight. Indeed, it rested entirely with him to say whether there should be any such thing as mercy at all-and until he chose to utter the restraining word the rout of the vanquished would go on with multiplying

recall a name with which to label one of these countenances; very few of them raised a memory of individual rancour. The faces were those of men he had seen, no doubt, but their persecution of him had been impersonal; his great revenge was equally so. As he looked, in truth, there was only one face-a composite mask of wha

it had not occurred to him before to drink; the taste of the neat liquor seemed on the instant to calm and refresh his brain. With more deliberation, he took a cigar from the broad, floridly-decorated open box beside

direct joy of a child. He caught the inkling of an idea that perhaps his years were an illusion. He had latterly been thinking of himself as middle-aged; the grey hairs thickening at his temples had vaguely depressed him. Now all at once he saw that he was not

t must be nearly seven o'clock; although the allotment work had kept the clerks later than usual that day, everybody connected with the offices had certainly gone home. He realized that his nerves had played him a trick in giving that alarm

ation, he went into this unlighted outer office, and called out through the opaque glass an enquiry. The sound of his voice, as it analyzed itself in h

d Room," said the newcomer, as he entered. "I assum

n," replied the other, leading the way back to the inner a

anging the Board-table, and shook hands with his guest, as if to atone for this doubtful accent. "I shake hands with you again," he said

e merest chance I happened to be detained in the City-and I saw your lights, and this afternoon we had no opportunity whatever for a quiet talk. No-I won't drink anything before dinner, but I'll light a cigar

intent look. Their faces, dusky red on the side of the glow from the fire, pallid where the electric light fell slantwise upon them from above, had

. His face in repose had the outline of the more youthful guardsman-type-regular, finely-cut, impassive to hardness. When he talked, or followed with interest the talk of others, it revealed almost an excess of animation. Then one noted the flashing subtlety of his glance, the swift facility of his smile and comprehending brows, and saw that it wa

eard, invited no attention. One seemed always to have known this face-thick-featured, immobile, undistinguished. Its accessories for the time being were even more than ordinarily unimpressive. B

ow, speaking with a drag, as of caution, on his words. "Witnesses or no witn

eal more than it is," replied

o considerable, as it

be perfectly open. He paused, and was awkwardly conscious of constraint in the silence which ensued. "You are very kind to put it in that way," said Lord Plowden, at last. He seemed also to be finding words for his though

ccess-say our succe

rs, is hardly more than nominal. I'm a Director, of course, and I'm not disp

I was turning over in my mind, just awhile ago, before you came in, some way of arranging al

rk seemed to restore to Lord Plowd

w. I'd much rather not, in fact. But what I do want to say to you is this: I believe in you. I feel sure that you are going to go far, as the saying is. Well, I want to tie myself to your st

vity to master, in all its bearings, the significance of what had been said. This habit of the abstracted and lack-lustre eye, the while he was hard at w

of this slow stare. "I'm asking nothing at all. I had the impulse to come and say to you that you

elf from Thorpe's unready lips. He bent forward a little, and to

u think I was such a hopeles

s, and patted his knee contentedly. All at once his face ha

out it or not. Let's see-this is Thursday; did I see you Tuesday? At any rate, the scheme didn't dawn on me myself until toward evening Tuesday. But yesterday, of course, I could have told you

iled. "I voted with y

have asked anything better than this," he declared once

llow your meaning," comme

I give you my word I was. I couldn't tell at all how you'd feel about the thing. You might think that it was all right, and then again you might round on me-or no, I don't mean quite that-

'm quite in the dark as to details-how much further ahead we are likely to go? I compr

p at all. We've got them in such a position that-why, good heavens! we can squeeze them to death, crush them like quartz." He chuckled g

rposed the other, "

hink well of me, and let me believe they were going to take me up, and then, because I wouldn't give them everything-the very shirt off my back-turned and put their knife into me. I don

ou don't talk in the least like one. On shipboard I made sure you were an American-a very characteristic one, I thought-of some curious Weste

een," Thorpe corrected him. He studied hi

o' suspect that you and I'd never have got much beyond a nodding acquaintance-and even that mostly on my side. I don't mean that I intended to conceal anything-that is, not specially-

ontrition. "Things naturally shape themselves that way, rather, you know. If they didn't, why then

that-because most of the time I was dog-poor-and this isn't the place for a poor man. But I always said to myself that if ever I pulled

l gleam in his eye. "And you ARE a rich man

h men," replied

rather a notion, indeed, that they're apt to do more harm than good-just at present, at least. But all that aside-you are the man who was civil to me at the start, when you knew nothing whatever about my scheme, and you are the man who was good to me later on, when I didn't know where to turn for a friendly word. Very well; here I am! I've made my coup! And

ch-you don't reflect what it is you are saying," he murmured confusedly. "N

he insisted. "Of course it takes my breath away for joy-and yet I feel I oughtn't to be consenting to it at all. A

and my father followed him in the business. In one sense, that puts us ten thousand miles apart. But in another sense, we'll say that we like each other, and that there are ways in which we can be of immense use to each other, and that brings us close together. You need money-and here it is for you. I need-what shall I say?-a kind of friendly lea

Lord Plowden rose as well. The

one of those soda-water bottles? I've tried, but I can never ge

into his great-coat, Thorpe bestowed the brandy and cigars within a ca

hat in hand. "I can set you down wherever you like. Unfortunately I

g," he bade him. "I've some odds an

It's a dies non here. Come down with me to-morrow evening, to my place in Kent. We will shoot on Saturday, and drive about on Sunday, if you like-and there we can ta

blem before him with visible anxiety. "I'm afraid I'd

eed to see you. There is no one else there-unless, perhaps, my s

ht. Charing Cross, 5:15," he said then, with the gra

d of the room, he brought forth his coat and hat; something prompted him to hold them up, and scrutinize them under the

sloppy underfoot, dripping overhead. At the corner before him, a cabman, motionless under his unshapely covered hat and glistening rubber cape, sat perch