it?" And then, with a sudden gasp of comprehension:

"Oh, if that's all!--I will never see Maurice Guest again."

"That's not it."

"What is it then?"

"Will you listen quietly?"

"Yes, yes." She ceased to draw back, let herself be held. But he felt
her trembling.

He whispered a few words in her ear. Almost simultaneously she jerked
her head away, and, turning a dark red, stared incredulously at him.
Then she sprang to her feet.

"Oh, what a fool I am! To believe, for one instant, there was a human
spot in you I could get at!--Take your hands away--take them off me!
Because I've had no one to speak to for so long: because I know YOU
could understand if you would--Oh, when a woman is down, anyone may hit
her."

"Gently, gently!--You're too good for such phrases."

"I'm no different from other women. It's only you--with your horrible
thoughts of me. YOU! Why, you're no more to me than the floor I stand
on."

"And matters are simplified by that very fact.--I can give you his
address, Lulu."

"Go away! I may hurt you. I could kill you.--Go away!"

"And this," said Krafft, as he put on his coat again, "is how a woman
listens quietly. Well, Lulu, think it over. A word at any time will
bring me, if you change your mind."

One evening, about a week later, Maurice entered Seyffert's Cafe. The
heavy snowfall had been succeeded by a period of thaw--of slush and
gloom; and, on this particular night, a keen wind had risen, making the
streets seem doubly cheerless. It was close on nine o'clock, and
Seyffert's was crowded with its usual guests--young people, who had
escaped from more or less dingy rooms to the warmth and light of the
cafe, where the yellow blinds were drawn against the inclement night.
The billiard table in the centre was never free; those players whose
turn had not yet come, or was over, stood round it, cigarette or large
black cigar in hand, and watched the game.

Maurice had difficulty in finding a seat. When he did, it was at a
table for two, in a corner. A youth who had already eaten his supper,
sat alone there, picking his teeth. Maurice took the opposite chair,
and made his evening meal with a languid appetite. At the other side of
the room was a large and boisterous party, whose leader was
Krafft--Krafit in his most outrageous mood. Every other minute, his
sallies evoked roars of laughter. Maurice refrained from glancing in
that direction. When, however, his VIS-A-VIS got up and went away,