"Oh, she has very good brains. Mrs. Abbott was here just now, and
although she is not what I should call literary--or too literate--
she seemed to think your wife was just the sort of woman who should
read."

"Mrs. Abbott's a damned old nuisance. You must have been overjoyed
at the interruption. But if Madeleine has to put on pincenez--"

"Oh, never fear!" Madeleine was smiling radiantly as she entered.
Her volatile spirits were soaring. "My eyes are the strongest part of
me. What did you have to tell Mr. Masters?" "Jove! I'd almost
forgotten, and it's great news, too. What would you say, Masters, to
editing a paper of your own?"

"What?"

"There's a conspiracy abroad--I won't deny I had a hand in it--no
light under the bushel for me--to raise the necessary capital and have
a really first-class newspaper in this town. San Francisco deserves
the best, and if we've had nothing but rags, so far--barring poor
James King of William's _Bulletin_--it's because we've never had a man
before big enough to edit a great one."

"I have no words! It is almost too good to be true!"

Madeleine watched him curiously. His voice was trembling and his
eyes were flashing. He was tall but had drawn himself up in his
excitement and seemed quite an inch taller. He looked about to wave a
sword and lead a charge. Establishing a newspaper meant a hard fight
and he was eager for the fray.