shone with a luminous brightness, as if all her vitality were gathered
there, while an unexpected colour came and went beneath the delicate
texture of her skin.

But of all Lena's attractions, none was more marked than her smile. It
was frequent and unaffected, almost maternal in its good nature and
indulgence, and disclosed two rows of little teeth, pure and fragile in
appearance as porcelain. Yet this smile, so inviting to those who
wished to be invited, was disillusioning to cooler and more
discriminating observers, for in it her ordinary quality was disclosed,
her redundancy of sweetness, her lack of that intellect which enables a
woman to triumph over the ravages of time.

As she waited there by the gate, she marked the lapse of time by the
cars that passed the end of the alley at intervals of fifteen minutes,
occupied not so much with thoughts as with sensations, both those of
the moment and those of anticipation. The air was delightfully soft,
like that of springtime, and she responded to its caress much as a
flower responds, lifting her face placidly to the sky. The atmosphere
had now reached the point of saturation, and her fine hair was
moistened as by a heavy dew. From time to time she gave an
affectionate touch to some small creature which she held warmly in the
bend of her arm beneath her cape, or turned her head to listen to the
stamping of the horses in a near-by stable. Directly across the alley,
a large, half-finished building lifted its walls in the dim light, like
a ruin, exhaling from its yawning windows a mingled odour of fresh pine
boards and plaster; and toward these squares of blackness she sometimes
turned a look almost childish in its suggestion of vague timidity.

At last, when she had lingered long past the time agreed upon, she
sighed, but without resentment, and resigned herself to disappointment.
She wished to see him this night in particular, for she had something
of importance to tell. He had forbidden her to write, and she accepted
this tyranny as she accepted the man. Without reflecting deeply upon
this elaborate caution of his, the secrecy of their courtship made an
appeal to a certain demand of her own nature for concealment and
mystery. Where a spirited girl would have questioned and resented, she
merely acquiesced.

She had almost abandoned hope when she caught sight of him in the
circle of electric light at the far end of the alley. He gave a quick
look to left and r