Rosa he soon drifted to San Francisco, and there conceived of
himself as a painter. He was a large, vigorous, rather common young
Californian, with reddish hair and a slightly freckled face, who was
really at home on horseback in the wilds of his native land, but at a
loss on the streets of Paris where he found himself frequently without
much money. Viticulture was not paying well at this time in California,
and Archie's father, in cutting down expenses all around, chose to begin
with Archie, who had not done anything to assist the family fortunes.
Archie took it good-naturedly and kept usually cheerful, though seedy
and often hungry. He felt that his was the typical story of the artist,
and if he would only persist, in spite of poverty and discouragement, he
must ultimately become a great painter because of his discomfiture.

"They can't freeze me out!" was a common saying on his lips, given with
a toss of the head and a smiling face which made an impression upon
women. Also his whistling philosophy, phrased as, "You never know your
luck!"

Miss Baxter, who had no great confidence in his ability, was kind to
Archie Davis for the sake of California, where she had known his people,
and because a single woman, no matter what her kind or condition may be,
likes to have some man within call. Adelle met him, as she met dozens of
other men, in the easy intimacy of the studio. At first she did not
regard him nor he her. Sadie Paul, who happened to be present at the
time, pronounced him a "bounder," which made no great impression upon
Adelle, any more than had Miss Comstock's "cad" for the banker. It was
not until she had settled in Paris for the spring and was a fairly
regular worker in the studio that Archie began to play a part in her
life.

It is easy to see why they should draw together. Adelle, thanks to all
the accessories that her money provided, presented a radiant and rare
vision to the young Californian, who knew only women like Cornelia
Baxter--mere workers--or the more vulgar intimacies of the streets and
cafes. Adelle Clark did not resemble even the sturdy California lassies
with whom he had been a favorite on the university campus. With her
motors and gowns and jewels she was the exotic, the privileged goddess
of wealth. To her Archie was at first mere Boy, then Youth. His seedy
state did not disturb her. Though dainty in habit, she had not become
delicate in instinct. And Archie's "freshness" amused her, his c