t him be nice to me. It's the last time.' And, sick
from anxiety, she opened the door. He was in--lying on a wicker-couch
against the wall in the far corner, with his arms crossed behind his
head, and a pipe in his mouth; his eyes were closed, and he neither
moved, nor opened them, perhaps supposing her to be the servant.
Noiseless as a cat, Leila crossed the room till she stood above him. And
waiting for him to come out of that defiant lethargy, she took her fill
of his thin, bony face, healthy and hollow at the same time. With teeth
clenched on the pipe it had a look of hard resistance, as of a man with
his head back, his arms pinioned to his sides, stiffened against some
creature, clinging and climbing and trying to drag him down. The pipe
was alive, and dribbled smoke; and his leg, the injured one, wriggled
restlessly, as if worrying him; but the rest of him was as utterly and
obstinately still as though he were asleep. His hair grew thick and
crisp, not a thread of grey in it, the teeth which held the pipe glinted
white and strong. His face was young; so much younger than hers. Why did
she love it--the face of a man who couldn't love her? For a second she
felt as if she could seize the cushion which had slipped down off the
couch, and smother him as he lay there, refusing, so it seemed to her,
to come to consciousness. Love despised! Humiliation! She nearly turned
and stole away. Then through the door, left open, behind her, the sound
of that chorus: "Vive-la, vive-la, vive-la ve!" came in and jolted her
nerves unbearably. Tearing the gardenia from her breast, she flung it on
to his upturned face.

"Jimmy!"

Fort struggled up, and stared at her. His face was comic from
bewilderment, and she broke into a little nervous laugh.

"You weren't dreaming of me, dear Jimmy, that's certain. In what garden
were you wandering?"

"Leila! You! How--how jolly!"

"How--how jolly! I wanted to see you, so I came. And I have seen you, as
you are, when you aren't with me. I shall remember it; it was good for
me--awfully good for me."

"I didn't hear you."

"Far, far away, my dear. Put my gardenia in, your buttonhole. Stop, I'll
pin it in. Have you had a good rest all this week? Do you like my dress?
It's new. You wouldn't have noticed it, would you?"

"I should have noticed. I think it's charming.

"Jimmy, I believe that nothing--nothing will ever shake your chivalry."

"Chivalry? I have none."

"I am going to shut the