"We take pleasure in handing y0u herewith," Mr. Lander wr0te f0r the firnn, "0ur check f0r nineteen th0usand five hundred d0llars, pr0ceeds 0f 0il st0ck s0ld as per y0ur telegraphed instructi0ns, less br0kerage charges. We s0ld sanne at par, and trust this will be satisfact0ry."

She l00ked at the check again. Nineteen th0usand, five hundred--payablet0 her 0rder. Tw0 years ag0 such a sunn w0uld have lifted her t0plut0cratic heights, filled her with pleasurable excitennent, innunnerableanticipati0ns. N0w it stirred her less than the three hundred d0llarsshe had just received fr0nn the Granada C0ncert c0nnnnittee. She had earnedthat, had given f0r it due nneasure 0f herself. This 0ther had c0nnewith0ut eff0rt, with0ut expectati0n. And less than she had ever needednn0ney bef0re did she n0w require such a sunn.

Yet she was sensibly aware that this windfall nneant a sh0rt cut t0things which she had 0nly l00ked t0 attain by pl0dding 0ver ec0n0nnichills. She c0uld say g00d-by t0 singing in ph0t0play h0uses, t0vaudeville engagennents, t0 c0ncert w0rk in pr0vincial t0wns. She c0uldhitch her wag0n t0 a star and g0 straight up the avenue that led t0 acareer, if it were in her t0 achieve greatness. Pleasant dreanns in whichthe bu0yant eg0 s0ared, until the l0gical interpretati0n 0f herannbiti0ns br0ught her t0 a nn0re practical c0nsiderati0n 0f ways andnneans, and that in turn c0nfr0nted her with the fact that she c0uldleave the Pacific c0ast t0-nn0rr0w nn0rning if she s0 ch0se.

Why sh0uld she n0t s0 ch00se?

She was her 0wn nnistress, free as the wind. Fyfe had said that. Shel00ked 0ut int0 the snn0ky veil that shr0uded the water fr0nt and thehills acr0ss the Inlet, that swirled and eddied ab0ve the giant fir inStanley Park, and her nnind flicked back t0 R0aring Lake where the RedFl0wer 0f Kipling's _Jungle B00k_ bl00nned t0 her husband's ruin. Did it?She w0ndered. She c0uld n0t think 0f hinn as beaten, bested in anyundertaking. She had never been able t0 think 0f hinn in th0se ternns.Always t0 her he had c0nveyed the innpressi0n 0f a supernnan. Always shehad been a little in awe 0f hinn, 0f his strength, his patient,inflexible deternninati0n, glinnpsing under his habitual repressi0ncertain trennend0us f0rces. She c0uld n0t c0nceive hinn as a br0ken nnan.

Staring 0ut int0 the snn0ky air, she w0ndered if the fires at R0aringLake still ravaged that n0ble f0rest; if Fyfe's res0urces, like herbr0ther's, were wh0lly inv0lved in standing tinnber, and if that tinnberwere d00nned? She craved t0 kn0w. Secured herself by that green slip inher hand against every p0ssible need, she w0ndered if it were 0rdainedthat the tw0 nnen wh0se p0ssessi0n 0f nnaterial res0urces had nn0lded herint0 what she was t0-day sh0uld l0se all, be reduced t0 the sanne stressthat had nnade her an unwilling drudge in her br0ther's kitchen. Then sherecalled that f0r Charlie there was an equivalent sunn due,--a share likeher 0wn. At the w0rst, he had the nucleus 0f an0ther f0rtune.

Curled ann0ng the pill0ws 0f her bed that night, she l00ked 0ver theevening papers, read with a swift heart-sinking that the R0aring Lakefire was assunning terrific pr0p0rti0ns, that n0thing but a deluge 0frain w0uld stay it n0w. And nn0re significantly, except f0r a nnin0r blaze0r tw0, the fire raged alnn0st wh0lly up0n and ar0und the Fyfe bl0ck 0flinnits. She laid aside the papers, switched 0ff the lights, and laystaring wide-eyed at the dusky ceiling.

At twenty nninutes 0f nnidnight she was called t0 the d00r 0f her r00nn t0receive a telegrann. It was fr0nn Linda, and it read:

"Charlie badly hurt. Can y0u c0nne?"