sealed jars from one of my own model dairies--and I'll try to forget
that its origin is--cows. That cream in the pitcher there came from a
farm of mine up in Westchester. Bulk for bulk, it costs me about the
same as old champagne, but it's mighty cheap compared to what that other
milk came to." He paused and gazed at the spoon balanced on a steady
forefinger.

"As for the whisper of the breeze through the silver birches, I've heard
it with chilblains on my feet and bruises on my heart and henceforth
when I want to see the shadows fall, I'll go and stand under Cheops'
pyramid or the Coliseum at Rome or some other edifice reared with human
hands as the monument to human achievement that helped to build the
world. When I die they'll once more lay me close to Nature's breast,
and, being dead, I sha'n't object--but until that time I'll stay
away--as far away as possible."

The financier ended his good-humored tirade and glanced up to meet the
frankly alarmed gaze of Harrow, who at that moment reappeared in the
door.

"Miss Burton says," announced the butler, his usual suavity shaken
beyond control, "that there is no answer to your note. She says you
already have her reply."

The coffee in the percolator was bubbling furiously, and the ice about
the grape-fruit was beginning to melt. Hamilton Burton rose abruptly
from his chair. "Please excuse me for a moment, Carl," he said in a low
voice. "I will go up and bring my sister down to breakfast."

The furnishing and decorating of Mary Burton's apartments had engrossed