east of Gower Street.

"This is where I lif," she said. "Come in!"

He had one long moment of violent hesitation, then yielded to the soft
tugging of her hand, and followed. The passage-hall was dimly lighted,
and they went upstairs into a front room, where the curtains were drawn,
and the gas turned very low. Opposite the window were other curtains
dividing off the rest of the apartment. As soon as the door was shut she
put up her face and kissed him--evidently formula. What a room! Its
green and beetroot colouring and the prevalence of cheap plush
disagreeably affected him. Everything in it had that callous look of
rooms which seem to be saying to their occupants: "You're here to-day
and you'll be gone to-morrow." Everything except one little plant, in a
common pot, of maidenhair fern, fresh and green, looking as if it had
been watered within the hour; in this room it had just the same
unexpected touchingness that peeped out of the girl's matter-of-fact
cynicism.

Taking off her hat, she went towards the gas, but he said quickly:

"No, don't turn it up; let's have the window open, and the moonlight
in." He had a sudden dread of seeing anything plainly--it was stuffy,
too, and pulling the curtains apart, he threw up the window. The girl
had come obediently from the hearth, and sat down opposite him, leaning
her arm on the window-sill and her chin on her hand. The moonlight
caught her cheek where she had just renewed the powder, caught her fair
crinkly hair; it caught the plush of the furniture, and his own khaki,
giving them all a touch of unreality.

"What's your name?" he said.

"May. Well, I call myself that. It's no good askin' yours."

"You're a distrustful little party, aren't you?"

"I haf reason to be, don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose you're bound to think us all brutes?"

"Well, I haf a lot of reasons to be afraid all my time. I am dreadfully
nervous now; I am not trusting anybody. I suppose you haf been killing
lots of Germans?"

He laughed.

"We never know, unless it happens to be hand to hand; I haven't come in
for that yet."

"But you would be very glad if you had killed some?"

"Glad? I don't think so. We're all in the same boat, so far as that's
concerned. We're not glad to kill each other. We do our job--that's
all."

"Oh! it is frightful. I expect I haf my broders killed."

"Don't you get any news ever?"

"News! No indeed, no news of anybody in my country. I might not haf a
cou