I wouldn't have thought so."

"Is her cat here?"

"There was some sort of an animal, but the woman of the house took it
off."

A silence followed, and Michael was aware of the priest's hostility.

"I suppose she didn't see her son before she died?" Michael went on.
"Her son is with the Jesuits."

"You seem to know a great deal about the poor soul?"

"I thought I had managed to help her," said Michael, in a sad voice.

"Indeed?" commented the priest, even more dryly.

"And there is nothing I can do now?"

"Almighty God has taken her," said the priest. "There is nothing you can
do."

"I could have some Masses said for her."

"Are you a Catholic?" the priest asked.

"No; but I fancy I shall be a Catholic," Michael said; and as he spoke
it was like a rushing wind. He hurried out into the passage where a nun
passed him in the gloom. "She will be praying," Michael thought, and,
looking back over his shoulder, he said:

"Pray for me, Sister."

The nun was evidently startled by the voice, and went on quickly down
the three steps and up the other into Mrs. Smith's den.

Michael climbed upstairs to interview the Solutionist. He found him
lying in bed.

"Why wasn't that money paid regularly?" he asked severely.

"Who is it?" the Solutionist muttered, in fuddled accents. "Wanted the
money myself. Had a glorious time. The cat's all right, and the poor old
rabbits are dead. Can't give everybody a good time. Somebody's got to
suffer in this world."

Michael left him, and without entering his old rooms again went away
from Leppard Street.

The moment had come to visit Rome, and remembering how he had once
dissuaded Maurice from going there, he felt some compunction now in
telling him that he wanted to travel alone. However, it would be
impossible to visit Rome for the first time with Maurice. In the studio
he led up to his backing out of the engagement.

"About this going abroad," he began.

"I say, Michael, I don't think I can come just now. The editor of The
Point of View wants a series of articles on the ballet, and I'm going to
start on them at once."

It was a relief to Michael, and he wished Maurice good luck.

"Yes, I think they're going to be rather good," he said confidently.
"I'm going to begin with the Opera: then the Empire and the Alhambra:
and in September there will be the new ballet at the Orient. Of course,
I've got a theory about English ballet."

"Is there anything about which you have