the sanguine Barker--perfectly convinced that she returned Stacy's
admiration--was seized with one of his old boyish dreams of the future,
and saw Stacy happily united to her, and was only recalled to the dinner
before him by its end. Then Stacy duly promenaded the great saloon with
Mrs. Barker on his arm, visited the baby in her apartments, and took an
easy leave. But he grasped Barker's hand before parting in quite his old
fashion, and said, "Come to lunch with me at the bank any day, and we'll
talk of Phil Demorest," and left Barker as happy as if the appointment
were to confer the favor he had that morning refused. But Mrs. Barker,
who had overheard, was more dubious.
"You don't suppose he asks you to talk with you about Demorest and his
stupid secret, do you?" she said scornfully.
"Perhaps not only about that," said Barker, glad that she had not
demanded the secret.
"Well," returned Mrs. Barker as she turned away, "he might just as well
lunch here and talk about HER--and see her, too."
Meantime Stacy had dropped into his club, only a few squares distant.
His appearance created the same interest that it had produced at the
hotel, but with less reserve among his fellow members.
"Have you heard the news?" said a dozen voices. Stacy had not; he had
been dining out.
"That infernal swindle of a Divide Railroad has passed the legislature."
Stacy instantly remembered Barker's absurd belief in it and his reasons.
He smiled and said carelessly, "Are you quite sure it's a swindle?"
There was a dead silence at the coolness of the man who had been most
outspoken against it.
"But," said a voice hesitatingly, "you know it goes nowhere and to no
purpose."
"But that does not prevent it, now that it's a fact, from going anywhere
and to some purpose," said Stacy, turning away. He passed into the
reading-room quietly, but in an instant turned and quickly descended
by another staircase into the hall, hurriedly put on his overcoat, and
slipping out was a moment later re-entering the hotel. Here he hastily
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