Left alone once more, the young wife sat down upon a stool near the fire, and looked into the blaze, idly twirling the card. “I wonder,” she soliloquised presently, “if he would have done the same.” Again she lapsed into meditation, for a few minutes; then suddenly she sat up straight, with an air of sudden interest which was clearly derived from her own thoughts. A moment later, she gave a short, hesitating laugh. “If I only dared! I wonder if he would? Men are—” she said disconnectedly; but even as she spoke, her face softened. “Poor dear!” she murmured tenderly. Yet the words of pity melted into another laugh, and this time merriment and not guilt was as the dominant note. Springing to her feet with vivacity, she sped into the hall, and placed the card on the tray, and that in turn conspicuously on the hatrack. A second action consisted in turning on all the electric lights of the chandelier. This done, she touched the bell. “You may close the house, Craig,” she ordered, when the servant responded to the summons, “but as Mr. Tyler has gone to his club, I wish you to leave these lights just as they are. I prefer that he should not come home to a darkened house, so don’t turn out one.” Giving one last glance, half merry and half guilty, at the bit of pasteboard put in so prominent a position, Margaret lightly tripped upstairs, humming something to herself. ⁂ Meantime Harry had wended his way to the club. “Hello, Tyler!” said the man his wife had refused. “Don’t mean to say you’ve actually ceased to be one of the ‘submerged tenth?’ How and where is your superior moiety?” “When I left Mrs. Tyler before her fire, ten minutes ago, she was very well.” “By George, if I had as clever and pretty a wife I don’t think I should dare to leave her alone. I should be afraid of the other men.” Harry turned away to hide his frown, but as he went towards the door of the billiard room, rejoined: “Perhaps it wouldn’t be safe with _your_ wife.” To himself he carolled gleefully: “That cuts both ways.” “But you are not afraid, I understand,” called the man, irritatingly, “so I take it you won’t mind if I drop round there for a few moments this evening, eh?” “Certainly not,” responded Harry, suavely, but gritting his teeth. “Hang the fellow,” he muttered. “How do such cads ever get into decent clubs? As if Margaret’s refusing him twice wasn’t enough to make him understand that she doesn’t want him round!” Tyler’s anger was quickly forgotten in the warm reception his cronies gave him, and a tumbler of “unsweetened” and a cue quickly made him forget both the incident and the passing hours. Not till the marker notified the players that the time limit had come did he wake to the fact that it was two o’clock.