At noon Mr. Lister returned with an interesting piece of news. The polls were to close at four o’clock, and at that hour the women were to assemble in the great Auditorium which formed one of the group of buildings which they occupied. There they were to await the report of the decision of the ballots, and any one was free to go there to hear it. To pass the time till then I reminded Mr. Lister of his promise to give me “Zugassent’s Discovery.” He placed the book in my hands, and, having arranged with me to meet him at the Woman’s Auditorium at four o’clock, he left the house to attend to business pertaining to the balloting. It was with a feeling of rare curiosity, not unmixed with profound awe, that I opened a book which promised to have made a discovery of value in a field in which no other discoverer had ever had the temerity to set foot. That this discovery was as innocent of evil as the white light of day, and profoundly scientific as well, that it was in keeping with the noble advancement of man in all other departments of wisdom, I was assured both from what I had been told of the character of Zugassent, and because it commended itself to such pure-minded lovers as Justin Lister and Allegra Alliston. But I had not the slightest idea of what this discovery might be. I accordingly plunged into the book as one plunges on a summer’s day in a stream of whose depth he has no conception. As I got deeper and deeper into “Zugassent’s Discovery,” my interest became absorbingly, wonderfully, and overpoweringly intense. I forgot all about the Great Woman’s Strike. I forgot where I was. I forgot everything which had happened in the exciting days through which I had just passed. Hour after hour flew by, and as I turned page after page there was gradually unfolded to my wondering perceptions a discovery that appeared to be the perfection of chivalry, the essence of unselfishness, the culminating and consummate flower of the true refinement of all ages. Civilizing and ennobling man beyond all precedent, it seemed to lift the primeval curse from woman not less really than if it had been done by an Omnipotent fiat. With breathless interest I read on. Once only I paused, as the question rose in my mind, “Was it feasible?” At that critical moment a clock struck, and I counted the strokes. Five o’clock! Like a flash the recollection of everything came back to me. It was an hour after the time at which I had promised to meet Mr. Lister at the Woman’s Auditorium! Thrusting “Zugassent’s Discovery” into my pocket, I seized my hat, and leaving the house, hurried toward the bridge which led to the women’s home. [Illustration] CHAPTER XIV. As I entered the Auditorium, and hastened to a seat beside Mr. Lister, I saw that the vast floor was filled with men and women, but that they were separated by a wide space. A woman whom I quickly recognized as Allegra Alliston was speaking from the platform. As I entered she was saying: