Ian Hay

“ You see, you are one of those quiet, protective men that all women must come to sometimes—when they are very happy, or very sad. A woman simply has to take her big joys and her big sorrows around to a man—sort of big-brother-man—in the end. Well, Dale and I—’
Tom Winter, suddenly conscious that he was about to be made the recipient of a confidence—a confidence as galling as it was unnecessary—rose to his feet. ”

“ Would she forswear men for ever? Would she follow Conway into exile? Or would she allow the incident to crush her completely, like the fragile blossom that she was? He did not know. He had little experience in the workings of a woman’s soul. ”

“ Moreover, it means the end of you, so far as I am concerned. Forgive me if you can, and never trust a hard-luck story-teller again. I advise you to marry Tom Winter, to whose mistaken chivalry I owe my present getaway. He is a solid citizen, and will never let you down. Good-bye, my dear, dear Gerry, and think as kindly of me as you can.
D. C.
II
Meanwhile, in the cold and glimmering darkness of one of the subterranean platforms of the Pennsylvania Station, beside the night sleeper to Pittsburgh, Mr. Moon was furtively handing over certain monies and documents to his employer. ”