This in no way suited Caleb’s ideas. He had planned to put the ring on Desirée’s hand, the evening of her return to Granite, three weeks hence. He wanted to witness her delight and surprise. It would offset the incident of the American Beauties. Neither of them had said a word during that last, all-too-short day, about an engagement ring. He hoped she would think he did not know enough to get her one. The girl’s amazement and joy would be so much the greater. Whereas, if he asked her beforehand about the size-- “That’s all right,” he decided. “I’ll take it with me. If it don’t fit she can send it back. But I guess it will.” * * * * * It was the eve of the Legislature’s special session. Conover had moved, three days earlier, to the Capital and was massing his legislative cohorts for the charge which was forever to annihilate the revised Starke bill. The price of Steeloids had slumped ever so little in view of the coming test. Caleb welcomed the slight drop; assuring Caine, Standish and the rest that it but preluded an unheard of “boom” in the stock the moment the result of the Assembly vote became known on ’Change. As to that result he had not an atom of doubt. He knew his strength to the minutest degree. Blacarda had made inroads upon his ranks, it was true; but the breaches were unimportant. And Caleb’s presence in the lobby on the day of the vote, together with certain highly effective secret manœuvres which were to be put into operation that day, would far more than offset them. Compared to the victorious struggle of six months earlier, he prophesied, this second affair would be no contest, but a rout. The time was long since past when any of Caleb’s financial beneficiaries could receive the lightest of their leader’s forecasts with doubt. Hence the Steeloid ring rejoiced mightily; and plunged so heavily in the stock that the price took a swift preliminary climb even before its promised rise was due. Caine, and more than one other of Conover’s business associates wondered at the subtle change that two weeks of absence had wrought in their champion. He was as shrewd, as daring, as resourceful as ever. Yet there was a difference. Caine voiced the general opinion when he said to Standish, the day the Assembly opened:-- “If I believed in miracles I should fancy a stray grain of humanity had somehow found its way into the man’s brain.”