But this temptation he had mastered, as he had mastered almost all the elements of his fate. "That kind of a question can never be answered fairly. No one has the complete data. No! I can honestly say _no_. Yet it has altered my life profoundly, that I can say." "Then why are you so pessimistic for me?" "Because," the doctor replied, slowly, "such a marriage as mine has been, such a marriage as yours would be, is a career in itself. Beyond that _nothing_--understand, _nothing_." "Love is a great career!" "It is; but there is hardly a man I have ever known who could embrace it, and that only, for a lifetime. You could not, I think, and you would be miserable. It is a humble career though it is rich. The man who wins does not devote his life to an exacting passion for a neurotic woman. You are the man to win: go in." The doctor rose. "Now I must leave you to see a patient who has been waiting. Think--you don't love her, poor child; what do you know of love? You are putting your mind in order for love, and it will come quickly enough." Long stared irresponsibly at the floor. "I am glad we have been able to talk this over without passion. You have not obliged me to use any coarse authority, or any influence except your own sane judgment. We have been unsentimental men. You have confessed to nothing more than a liking for a pretty girl. You have committed yourself to nothing." The doctor paused, resting his hands firmly on the table between them. He read the young man's face eagerly, and he felt sure that he had gained his point. "Now, go," he continued kindly, "and God-speed to you! Go in to win!" He turned. Long rose mechanically as if ordered by a superior, opened the door, and disappeared into the dark hall. The doctor listened for the sound of his footsteps. When he heard the tread on the ground beneath the office window, he sighed and stepped out into the hall. His daughter was standing in the doorway at the farther end, as if looking for some one. "Where is Mr. Long, papa?" "He has gone." The doctor's voice dwelt slightly on the last word. The girl glanced at him sharply, and then turned back into the lighted drawing-room. "Dinner is waiting, Jarvis," Mrs. Thornton spoke from a lounge within the room. "Why didn't you keep Mr. Long?" The doctor walked over to his wife and stood for a moment by her side. She smiled in further interrogation; the doctor bent and kissed her. "Long didn't care to stay," he replied. Then he went back to his patient. THE IVORY SERIES _Each, 16mo, gilt top, 75 cents_ AMOS JUDD. By J. A. Mitchell Editor of "Life" IA. A Love Story. By Q [Arthur T. Quiller-Couch] THE SUICIDE CLUB By Robert Louis Stevenson IRRALIE'S BUSHRANGER By E. W. Hornung A MASTER SPIRIT By Harriet Prescott Spofford MADAME DELPHINE By George W. Cable ONE OF THE VISCONTI By Eva Wilder Brodhead A BOOK OF MARTYRS By Cornelia Atwood Pratt