And listen, when I locked that door it was with a purpose.

I had no mind to let you leave as you are leaving.
Never mind.

You can go--only be quick." Francis paused upon the threshold.

"You understand," he said significantly.
"I understand," Trent answered.
* * * * * An hour passed, and Trent still remained in the chair before his writing-table, his head upon his hand, his eyes fixed upon vacancy.
Afterwards he always thought of that hour as one of the bitterest of his life.

A strong and self-reliant man, he had all his life ignored companionship, had been well content to live without friends, self-contained and self-sufficient.