much I really receive
from the War Office, because Mr. Nevin won't tell me. He just muddles me
up with a lot of figures----"

"You have seen him, then?"

"Of course I have seen him. But one thing I do know. I owe you over a
hundred pounds, and I am going to pay it!"

"But, Flamby," said Don, a startled expression appearing upon his face,
"you don't owe it to me at all. You are wrong."

Flamby studied him carefully for awhile. "I am going to send it to Mr.
Nevin--I have told him so--and he can settle the matter." She laid her
hand on Don's sleeve. "Don't think me silly, or an ungrateful little
beast," she said, "but I can't talk about it any more; it makes me want
to cry. Did you know that Chauvin got me a commission from the War
Office propaganda people to do pictures of horses and mules and things?"

"Yes," replied Don, guiltily. But to his great relief Flamby did not
accuse him of being concerned in the matter.

"I felt a rotten little slacker," explained Flamby; "I wrote and told
you so. Did you get the letter?"

"Of course. Surely I replied?"

"I don't remember if you did, but I told Chauvin and he recommended my
work to them and they said I could do twelve drawings. They accepted the
first three I did, but rejected the fourth, which both Hammett and
Chauvin thought the best."

"Probably it was. That was why they rejected it. But about this
money----"

"Please," pleaded Flamby.

Don looked into her eyes and was silenced. He suppressed a sigh. "Have
you seen Paul lately?" he asked.

"No. He is away. His book frightens me."

"Frightens you," said Don, staring curiously. "In what way?"

"I don't know that I can explain. I feel afraid for _him_."

"For Paul?"

"Yes."

"Because he has seen the truth?"

Flamby hesitated. "It must be awful for a doctor who has specialised in
some dreadful disease to find----"

"That he suffers from it? This is a common thing with specialists." Don
spoke almost heedlessly, but had no sooner spoken than he became aware
of the peculiar significance of his words. He sat staring silently at
Flamby. Before he had time for further speech Regali attended in person
to announce that places were vacant at one of the tables. This table Don
and Flamby shared with a lady wearing her hair dressed in imitation of a
yellow dahlia, and with a prominent colourist who was devoting his life
to dissipating the popular delusion about trees being green. He was
gradually educating the wo