and started out.

"Will you be dining here, sir?" asked one of tke stewards.

"Mr. Garrigan asked me to inquire, sir, and, if you were, to say that he
would appreciate it if you would be his guest."

"Thank him for me, and tell him I can't stay." And the colonel, tossing
aside the cigar which had gone out and been frequently relighted, soon
found himself making a part of the avenue's night throng.

It was a warm summer evening-altogether too warm to be in New York when
one had the inclination and means to be elsewhere, but the colonel, in
spite of the fact that he had been in a hurry to leave the club, seemed
to find no occasion for haste now.

He sauntered along, seemingly without an object, though the rather
frequent consultations he made of his watch appeared to indicate
otherwise. Finally, he seemed either to have come to a sudden decision
or to have noted the demise of the time he was trying to kill, for with
a last quick glance at his timepiece he put it back into his pocket,
and, turning a corner where there was a taxicab stand, he entered one of
the vehicles and gave an order to the chauffeur.

"Columbia College-yes, sir!" and the driver looked rather oddly at the
figure of the colonel.

"Wonder what he teaches, and what he's going up there this time of night
for?" was the mental comment of the chauffeur. "Maybe they have evening
classes, but this guy looks as though he could give em a post-graduate