His  desire  to  see  Miss  Morton  alone  was  not  the  only
factor  of  his  anxiety  to  receive  her  answering  message,
although  he  acknowledged  no  other.  Vaguely  he  was
conscious  of  forebodings;  but  so  fascinated  was  he  by
the  financial  game,  and  the  approach  of  his  supreme
business  power  which  should  be  made  to  yield  him  still
further  power,  so  blinded  to  aught  save  his  own  am-
bitions, that  he  had  failed  to  read  aright  her  aversion  to
his  methods  and  aspirations  and  her  shocked  compre-
hension of  the  revelations  he  had  made  the  evening
before.  He  had  experienced  some  slight  misgivings
at  having  broken  his  rule  of  secrecy  even  to  her,  but
these  had  changed  to  reassurance  as  he  remembered
her  absolute  faithfulness  to  every  trust  he  had  imposed,
whether  great  or  small.
ON  THE  HUDSON  BIVER  147

With  the  receipt  of  Miss  Morton's  message  came
pleasant  relaxation  from  the  day's  affairs.  On  his
yacht,  with  his  beautiful  fiancee  alone  beside  him,  the
historic  and  romantic  hills  of  the  Hudson  a  fitting  set-
ting, he  would  tell  her  of  his  carefully  evolved  plans,
of  his  masterly  struggle,  of  his  victory  —  the  victory
which  meant  unprecedented  gains  with  all  the  wor-
shiping respect  and  power  they  carried.  Certainly
she  would  be  won  by  the  spirit  of  the  situation,  pleased
with  his  success,  proud  to  become  the  wife  of  the  one
man  chosen  by  destiny  to  lead  and  rule  in  the  world's
affairs.  A  fit  queen  she  would  be,  crowned  by  the  hon-
or and  power  that  should  be  his.  So  the  mists  of  doubt
disappeared  beneath  the  blazing  sun  of  his  pride  and
self-confidence,  dazzling  to  the  eyes  of  his  own  con-
science, deceiving  to  his  mind,  warming  him  into  a
siesta  of  mental  satisfaction  and  anticipation.
