As he turned homeward, he thrust his hand, yet warm with the touch
of her bare arm, into his pocket, drew out two pearls, looked
tenderly at them and felt their smooth, rounded forms. A longing
for such companionship in work with his wife swept his soul.






CHAPTER VI

THE PUDDLE AND THE TADPOLE





When Gordon started home from his round of visits with Kate the
wind had hauled to the north and it began to spit drops of snow.
The cars were still crowded, the aisles full and the platforms
jammed, though it was seven o'clock. He buttoned his coat about his
neck and paced the station, waiting for a train in which he could
find a seat.

"Bad omen for my trustee meeting to-night," he muttered. "This air
feels like Van Meter's breath."

He allowed four trains to pass, and at last boarded one worse crowded
than the first. With a sigh for the end of chivalry, he pushed his