A breath of the wide world has come to me with that pleasant burly note, of other-worldliness, of freedom, of rovings and wanderings, something of the zest I used to feel. I used to feel myself (or so I think) strung like a lute, sensitive to every breath and sign of beauty, to all the subtle tunes of life. My nerves are duller now, responsive only to the obvious. In the inverted world of business I suppose that is progress. Dibdin’s letter has brought back something of my old self, at least a nostalgia of other days. And here my conscience smites me. It is long since I have seen Gertrude. I must rectify that omission at once. After all, Gertrude has been patience itself with my vagaries. And the thought of the old freedom is struck through with the years of her friendship. Gertrude never interfered. I have seen Gertrude and she was indulgently amiable when I read her Dibdin’s letter. "I believe, Ranny," she was pleased to say, "you are developing. Do you know, I think business experience very good for you?" It was very agreeable to see Gertrude curled up on a sofa in a very pretty tea gown comfortably smoking her cigarette. I felt suddenly that the neglect of feminine society is a mistake for any man, most of all for myself. "I’m glad my partner isn’t here," I told her. "He might give me away." "I don’t care," she answered. "You are a stronger man to-day than you were a few months and even a few weeks ago. Here you are attracting money. A thousand dollars is always a thousand dollars." "Yes, indeed! Let Morgan look to his laurels," I relied. "His days are numbered." "Don’t be absurd," she laughed. "You’ll be rich before you know it. But that isn’t the point. Lots of other things you’ll see in a new way. You’ve been a sentimentalist, Ranny," she went on explaining. "Business gives a man judgment instead of sentimentality. You’ll come to understand that my advice to you in a number of things, including the children, had more sense to it then you guessed. You will recognize that even children can be cared for better by efficient people trained for it than by an inexperienced bachelor and a little foundling girl. Don’t worry about that now," she added hastily, "but you’ll find out." My answering grin must have been of a sickly pallid hue, for I own I felt myself chilling at her words. "I thought," I put in, "that that was all over and settled between us." "So it is, Ranny dear," she answered quickly. "Don’t misunderstand. I am not advising now. I am merely prophesying." "Oh, in that case," I endeavored to be conciliatory, "it will be a pleasant game to watch how true your prophecy comes." "Yes," she spoke more eagerly. "Now tell me about your business. It must be horribly interesting." "It horribly is," I agreed, "and fearfully done." And I went on to describe to her amusement some of the ways and means of the ingenious Fred Salmon.