“I have heard him talk some, and I know him in a business way.”

“Is he so very rich?” she asked.

“He has a few millions,” said he. “And I suppose he is turning them over very rapidly. People say that he is a daring speculator.”

“A speculator!” exclaimed Lucy. “Why, I thought that he was the president of a bank!”

“When you have been in New York awhile,” said Montague, with a smile, “you will realise that there is nothing incompatible in the two.”

Lucy was silent, a little staggered at the remark. “I am told,” Montague added, with a smile, “that even Ryder's wife won't keep her money in the Gotham Trust.”

Montague had not anticipated the effect of this remark. Lucy gave a sudden start. “His wife!” she exclaimed.

“Why, yes,” said Montague. “Didn't you know that he was married?”

“No,” said Lucy, in a low voice. “I did not.”

There was a long silence. Finally she asked, “Why was not his wife invited to the dinner?”