leaning towards him
and looking intently into his face, "I would borrow the magic from
somewhere and mix a little in your wine, so that you should drink
and feel the desire for new things; so that the world of Tooley
Street should seem to you as though it belonged to a place inhabited
only by inferior beings; so that you should feel new blood in your
veins, hot blood crying for adventures, a new heart beating to a new
music. I would like, if I could, Arnold, to bring those things into
your life."

He turned and looked at her. Her face was within a few inches of
his. She was in earnest. The gleam in her eyes was half-provocative,
half a challenge. Arnold rose uneasily to his feet.

"I must go back," he said, a little thickly. "I forgot that Ruth is
so shy. She will be frightened alone."

He walked away down the pergola without even waiting for her. It was
very rude, but she only leaned back in her chair and laughed. In a
way, it was a triumph!

CHAPTER XXI

ARNOLD SPEAKS OUT

Ruth was still alone, and her welcome was almost pathetic. She
stretched out her arms--long, thin arms they seemed in the tight
black sleeves of her worn gown. She had discarded her carefully
mended gloves and her hands were bare.

"Arnold," she murmured, "how long you have been away!"

He threw himself on the grass by her side.

"Silly little woman!" he answered. "Don't tell me that you are not
enjoying it?"

"It is all wonderful," she whispered, "but can't you see that I am
out of place? When could we go, Arnie?"

"Are you so anxious to get away?" he asked, lazily.

"In a way, I should be content to stay here for ever," she answered.
"If you and I only could be here--why, Arnold, it is like Heaven!
Just close your eyes as I have been doing--like that. Now listen.
There isn't any undernote, none of that ceaseless, awful monotony of
sound that seems like the falling of weary men's feet upon the
eternal pavement. Listen--there is a bird singing somewhere in that
tree, and the water goes lapping and lapping and lapping, as though
it had something pleasant to say but were too lazy to say it. And
every now and then, if you listen very intently, you can hear
laughing voices through the trees there from the river, laughter
from people who are happy, who are sailing on somewhere to find
their city of pleasure. And the perfumes, Arnold! I don't know what
the rose garden is like, but even from here I can smell it. It is
wonderful."