don't let Perry rave, you know, even over Laura.
Not that I'm unduly jealous, but that I'm easily bored."

"I can't imagine you jealous," he commented, keeping as usual close to
the intimate intention.

"And of Perry! I should hope not!" Her gesture was one of amused
indifference. "Jealousy is the darling virtue of the savage, and I may
not be a saint, but at least I'm civilized. Give me food and a warm fire
and clothes to my back, and I'm quite content to let the passions go."

"Even love?" he asked, still smiling.

She shrugged her shoulders--gracefully as few women can. "Love among the
rest--I don't care--why should I? Make me comfortable."

An impulse which was hardly more than a consuming interest in
humanity--in the varied phenomena of life--caused him to draw quickly
nearer.

"You say that because you've 'arrived,'" he declared. "You've 'arrived'
in love as your friend has in literature. The probationary stage after
all is the only one worth while, and you've gone too far beyond it."

"I've gone too far beyond everything," she protested, laughing. "I'm a
graduate of the world. Now Laura--"

The name recalled his thoughts and he repeated it while she paused.
"Laura--it has a jolly sound--and upon my word I haven't seen a woman in
years who has had so much to say to me before I've met her. Do you know,
I already like her--I like her smooth black hair, without any of your
fussy undulations; I like her strong earnest look and the strength in
her brow and chin; I even like the way she dresses--"

Gerty's laugh pealed out, and he broke off with a movement of
irritation. "Is it possible that Laura is an enchantress," she demanded,
"and have I followed the wrong principle all my life? Has my honest
intention to please men led me astray?"

"Oh, you may be funny at my expense if you choose," he retorted, "but
I've had enough of fluff and feathers, and I like the natural way she
wears her clothes--" Again he smoked in an abstracted silence, and then
asked abruptly: "Will you take me some day to see her?"

She shook her head.

"Take you? No, you've missed your opportunity."

"But I'll make another. Why not?"

"Because I tell you frankly she would hate you."

"My dear girl, she wouldn't have a shadow of an excuse. No woman has
ever hated me in my life."

"Then there's no use seeking the experience. You'd just as well accept
the fact at once that Laura couldn't bear you--"

A laugh followed from the door w