ple," he replied, with a faun-look up
from the corner of his eye, which watched her expression. "First, I
wished to flee from that newspaper article--dreadful!--till the danger
of any reference to it in my hearing was greatly reduced. Then, aside
from a slight natural need to recover myself, I felt I must for manners'
sake allow a little time to pass before I approached you again on the
subject of marrying me. One scruples to make himself a bore. It
therefore would be better not to see you, and, in order not to see you,
better not to be in town. Lastly, Auroretta, I conceived the infernal
ambition to make you suffer from absence the minutest fraction of what I
should suffer myself."

"Don't say a word! I've missed you so my bones felt hollowed out!"

"Reflect then, my dearest, upon the sufferings you are preparing for
yourself if you haven't a kinder answer for me than the other day to the
same question. All the reasons you gave for saying no were such bad
ones, founded upon a bad opinion of me. I can't take your refusal for
final, don't you see, without first being sure I have convinced you at
least that you are wrong in thinking me a fish or a mudturtle, and wrong
in attributing a lack of intelligence to me which could betray me into
confusing great things with little, little with great."

"Oh, Gerald, you oughtn't to keep on trying! I do wish you wouldn't! No!
Don't say any more about it!" she pleaded in weak anguish. "You oughtn't
to go on battering against the little bit of common sense I've got
left."

"Common sense! I advise you to speak of it!" he affected to jeer,
remarkably braced by her misery. "Common sense, as represented by a
decent concern for your good name, ought to prompt you enter as quickly
as you can into an engagement with me. I met our dear Doctor Batoni in
the street yesterday on my way home from the station, and he amiably
asked how was my _fidanzata_, or betrothed? It was a difficult
moment for me, because he told me that _you_ had told him you were
that."

"I told him nothing of the sort! I said I was your friend, in French."

"A friend, in French, may mean a good deal. Save your reputation, dear;
I give you the chance."

"What nonsense! I explained to him as well as I could, in French, that I
was there taking care of you because I was your friend."

"You are hopelessly compromised. Look to me to set you right."

"Gerald, I shall do nothing of the kind."

"Ah, I see that your preju