_The seal was still
unbroken_! He placed it in a heavy document envelope, sealed this and
wrote a memorandum on it, and dropped it on the desk. Then for a long
time he sat staring into the dusk. At last, as if the full realization
of the loneliness of his life had swept over him he dropped his head on
his desk with a groan.
"O Diana! Diana!"
He did not hear the door open softly. Abbott with Ames just behind
him, stood on the threshold. The two young men looked at each other,
abashed, and Abbott would have withdrawn, but Ames went doggedly into
the room.
"Mr. Secretary!" he said, hesitatingly.
Enoch sat erect. Abbott flashed on the light. "Mr. Ames insists on
seeing you again, Mr. Huntingdon," Charley spoke hesitatingly.
"Come in, Ames," said Enoch, coldly. "Abbott, see that this envelope
is put in a safe place."
Abbott left them alone. Ames advanced to the desk, where he stood, his
face eager.
"Mr. Secretary, you've been so decent. You,--you--well, you're such a
man! I--I want to tell you something but I don't know how you'll take
it. The truth is, I believe that I could prove that Luigi's mistress
was not your mother!"
Enoch clutched his desk and his face turned to stone. "Don't you think
you went far enough with that matter before?" he asked sternly.
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