she stopped to look in a shop, and more than once she smiled to herself as she remembered how she had escaped from her uncle's

to obtain a word or two with her. Already a "Special" was being sold on the streets, and in big black letters she read of the alarming illness of Phineas Duge. She had left both his secretaries, young men with whom as yet she had exchanged only a few words, hard at work opening lette

ing a store, and hesitating for a moment which way to continue her walk, a man stopped suddenly before her and

ough afraid that she might slip away. "I have just left your house, but I couldn't s

st been when I came away. He said, I believe, that it was only a matter of a com

ook his head

apart from that, we are concerned in one or two very important speculations just now, things

attend to anything very necessary in four or five days. They will

nodded tho

use, I see," he remarked. "Permit

esitated f

ing to do," she said. "I wa

was already leading

. I am sure you will not mind going back to the house with me now and continu

the other side of the Avenue, Stephen Weiss, speaking earnestly

we are none of us poor men. Now we can carry this thing right through without bothering your uncle, and make a success of it, but there is just one thing we must have, and that is a paper which he has locked away in his study, and which is a sort of key to the situation.

ed, "he has not

yours, we must have that paper. When we get home, just step into your uncle's room and say one sentence to him. Say that I am downstairs. He will know what I want, and I am sure he will tell you to give it to me. I hate to have t

seemed to

arked, "were very strict. I am

can do your uncle no possible harm, and they may save him a very bad relapse later on. I wouldn't press this

uncle's house, and already a small crowd of people were collected, readin

being seen by all this crowd?" he asked.

by a reporter, whom Mr. Weiss brushed unceremoniously away. Virginia took her c

" she said, "I'll go up

n any way possible, I

tudy, where we were last night. I dare say one of your uncle's young men will be there, a

. I am sure that he is not in the library, because my uncle uses th

wever, to pass. Inside the room Phineas Duge was sitting in an easy-chair, carefully dressed, smoking a cigarette, and with

g up as she entered, "ha

t they could carry it on all right without you, but that they must have one paper, which he said was the key to the position. He remarked that he had telephoned to you

uge smile

not know what paper he means. If you come and talk to me again about business matters, I sh

go into the library, and he wanted to see Smedley,

see Smedley if he wants to, on your responsibility of course.

ter library softly, and passed with swift silent footsteps into the smaller apartment. Mr. Weiss was stand

e has been a sort of office for us, and your uncle lets us do about as we pleas

hook her h

to remember anything about a paper, and he said that everything must wait until his head is a li

, was as expressionless as a face could be, but Virginia heard him draw a quick little b

said slowly, "this

ry," she

he said. "I have some

ook he

," she said. "I have so many things

eyes looked r

se is faced with a crisis, when he or she is forced to act upon their own responsibility. The person who is great enoug

ittle doubtfully, although in her hear

several millions of dollars, and to make your uncle grateful to y

cle's permissi

to wait until he recovers. For a part of your reward, at any rate, there is a pearl necklace in Streeter's, which I saw yesterday marked forty thousand dollars. I

rrowfully. Her great eyes

ewards are not for me. Even if my uncle sends me away when he gets well, I must do exactly as he told me, no more, nor any less, and one of tho

could see that his hands were tightly clenched, and the bones of his

he said. "You have a great opportunity. It

d out h

egged. "I am too fri

d the door to the servant, whose a

. Weiss out?" she said.

went witho