The same night they left for New York, while Edith with a sigh of relief settled back into her family.
* * * * * The next morning at his office Roger found John waiting with misery stamped on his face.

John had paid small heed to war.

Barely stopping for sleep in the last two days he had gone through scores and hundreds of papers, angrily skipping all those names of kings and emperors and czars, and searching instead for American names, names of patrons--business! Gone! Each hour he had been opening mail and piling up letters cancelling contracts, ordering service discontinued.
Roger sat down at his desk.

As he worked and figured and dictated letters, glancing into the outer rooms he saw the long rows of girls at tables obviously trying to pretend that there was work for them to do.

He felt them anxiously watching him--as in other offices everywhere millions of other employees kept furtively glancing at their chiefs.
"War," he thought.