CHAPTER III. ONLY THREE YEARS.

When, at last, the owner of the store entered the office, his
face showed extreme irritation. He did not vouchsafe any
greeting to the secretary, who regarded him with an accurate
perception of his mood. With a diplomacy born of long
experience, in her first speech Sarah afforded an agreeable
diversion to her employer's line of thought.

"Mr. Hastings, of the Empire store, called you up, Mr. Gilder,
and asked me to let him know when you returned. Shall I get him
on the wire?"

The man's face lightened instantly, and there was even the
beginning of a smile on his lips as he seated himself at the
great mahogany desk.

"Yes, yes!" he exclaimed, with evident enthusiasm. The smile grew
in the short interval before the connection was made. When,
finally, he addressed his friend over the telephone, his tones
were of the cheerfulest.

"Oh, good morning. Yes, certainly. Four will suit me
admirably.... Sunday? Yes, if you like. We can go out after
church, and have luncheon at the country club." After listening
a moment, he laughed in a pleased fashion that had in it a
suggestion of conscious superiority. "My dear fellow," he
declared briskly, "you couldn't beat me in a thousand years.