irection and ultimate calm. She
wanted to drive home her conviction that, whether we swim with the
torrent or against it, we must do it together--men and women--adjusting
and readjusting.

Dawn came. She heard Anna stirring below, before she dropped asleep.
Jerry was still asleep when she left the house. She was relieved that
she did not have to meet him, in the disorganized condition of mind and
body in which she found herself after her sleepless and perturbed night.
She took a brisk walk before she went to her work, and compromised by
setting herself to revision rather than creation.

When she came into the nursery on her return, she found Jerry there. At
sight of her he put the baby down quickly on the bed, and came toward
her, with a look on his face she could not fathom.

"Jane, why, Jane...." he began and stopped. He held out his hand and she
laid hers in it, while he still stared at her in the most intense way.

"I can hardly believe it--I couldn't lay it down."

"I'm so glad. I came and peeped at you at three o'clock and I was so
excited that I couldn't sleep any more after that. I wanted so to know
what you thought about it."

"I almost came in to wake you up, but I thought I'd just take the rest
of the night to think it over."

"You--liked it?"

"No. I think you've done it wonderfully. I couldn't believe that you
could do it," he broke off. "I suppose the whole truth is that I don't
know you at all, any more than if we met last night."

"Oh, you know some of me, Jerry. You couldn't know what I kept secret."

"How did you learn all that, in that book?"

"Well, I've read a great deal of other people's wisdom. I've lived and
watched and studied people. I don't know; how does any artist acquire
what he gives out? It's like breath, you inhale atmosphere outside of
you, make it part of your blood and tissue, exhale it something quite
different--essentially yours!"

"And I've been living along with you, just thinking you were any woman."

"I am--just that--and I've written the story of any woman in the world
to-day. Why didn't you like it, Jerry?"

"Because I don't like what you say--we've gone over it so often."

"It wasn't convincing to you, then?"

"I don't know. I was mainly interested in how you were doing it. I'm
going to read it again and see if what you say is really sense."

She laid her hands on his shoulders.

"Jerry, promise. Read it with an open mind. Pretend you haven't any
prejudi