bird
and her wonderful hair fell aslant like a golden wing--"I amuse
myself--as much as I can. I learn all that can be done with greedy,
stupid humanity for so much cash down! I would,"--here she paused, and
with a sudden feline swiftness of movement came close up to him--"I
would have married YOU!--if you would have had me! I would have given
you all my money to play with,--you could have got everything you want
for your inventions and experiments, and I would have helped you,--and
then--then--you could have blown up the world and me with it, so long
as you gave me time to look at the magnificent sight! And I wouldn't
have married you for love, mind you!--only for curiosity!"

He withdrew from her a couple of paces,--a glimmer of white teeth
between his dark moustache and beard gave his face the expression of a
snarl more than a smile.

"For curiosity!" she repeated, stretching out a hand and touching his
arm--"To see what the thing that calls itself a man is made of! I did
my very best with you, didn't I?--uncouth as you always were and
are!--but I did my best! And all Washington thought it was settled! Why
wouldn't you do what Washington expected?"

The light of the moon fell full on her upturned face. It was a
wonderful face,--not beautiful according to the monotonous press-camera
type, but radiant with such a light of daring intelligence as to make
beauty itself seem cheap and meretricious in comparison with its
glowing animation. He moved away from her another step, and shook his
arm free from her touch.

"Why wouldn't you?" she reiterated softly; then with a sudden ripple of
laughter, she clasped her hands and uplifted them in an attitude of
prayer--"Why wouldn't he? Oh, big moon of California, why? Oh, pagan
gods and goddesses and fauns and fairies, tell me why? Why wouldn't he?"

He gave her a glance of cool contempt.

"You should have been on the stage!" he said.

"'All the world's a stage,'" she quoted, letting her upraised arms fall
languidly at her sides--"And ours is a real comedy! Not 'As You Like
It' but 'As You Don't Like It!' Poor Shakespeare!--he never imagined
such characters as we are! Now, suppose you had satisfied the
expectations of all Washington City and married me, of course we should
have bored each other dreadfully--but with plenty of money we could
have run away from each other whenever we liked--they all do it
nowadays!"

"Yes--they all do it!" he repeated, mechanically.

"They