For the time being, therefore, Saul Hartz gave up the project of issuing a challenge to Garland’s murderers. It went against the grain, for the worst enemies of the Colossus allowed him to be no coward. He had a burning desire to divulge all that he knew, but apart from motives of prudence one consideration held him back. The cat could only have been let out of the bag at a price. That price was the loss of his right-hand man, Bennet Gage. And this, at such a moment, was not to be thought of. Already he was deeply involved in a fight with the odds heavily against him. Life itself for Saul Hartz, was one interminable strife. And now at this supreme crisis, with his back to the wall, he must have all his forces mobilized and ready to his hand. Moreover, the interview with Wygram had brought home to the Colossus that the police, whom he heartily despised and was ever ready to defy, were far better informed than himself on this dark subject. For once the U. P. secret service, one of his own pet creations, had been outshone. He had Wygram to thank for that. Rumor had not overpainted the powers of a remarkable man. In spite of the charlatan’s mantle, which after all might be only a cloak to deceive the unwary, this man had a curious but undeniable faculty. It must be the aim of the U. P. to turn it later to full account. Saul Hartz made no difference in his way of life. And under duress he was moved to an act of reparation in the matter of John Endor. True, the _amende_ was tardy, not to say grudging, yet offered so skilfully as to rob it of any such appearance. The U. P. freely circulated Mr. Endor’s contradiction. It ate in public as much humble pie as was consistent with a sense of dignity. The _Planet_, that high-toned newspaper associated itself with this belated apology to Mr. Endor, but at the same time covered its tracks in its own inimitable fashion, by drawing a moral and adorning a tale. A trivial episode in the career of a minor politician had already had more attention paid to it than its nature called for in these strenuous days! In regard to Helen Sholto, new difficulties arose. She had declined on any terms to take charge of the new journal for women. It had not been easy to make up her mind, since none knew better than she what a prize she was giving up. Nor was it easy for Saul Hartz to yield to this decision. A man of imperious will, the habit of gratifying it had become second nature. For once, however, he had gone the wrong way to work. He had counted on being able, in the last resort, to force the hand of an ambitious and brilliant woman. When squarely put to a choice between a ruined John Endor and a triumphant U. P. with the advantages of the one, and the disabilities of the other in the scale, he felt pretty sure that common sense must gain the day.