There is a terrifying report of knuckles on the counter. There are signs of strangling and a sneeze.
"N--n--n--noah," stammers the faithful son of swart Afric.
BOOK II
ESTHER LOCKWIN
CHAPTER I
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Esther Lockwin, the bride of a few months, has been hungrily happy.
She has been the wife of David Lockwin, the people's idol. She has passed out of a single state which had become wearisome. She has removed from a vast mansion to a less conspicuous home.
Of all the women in Chicago she would consider herself most fortunate.
People call her cold. It is certain that she is best pleased with a husband like Lockwin. It is his business to be famous.
"Go to Congress," she says. "Outlive your enemies. I think, David, that men are not the equals of women in defending themselves against the shafts of enmity. Outlive your enemies, David."