," was the answer, spoken with eyes riveted on the
ground.

"My conscience is quite clear."

"Then you have none," said Gertrude harshly. "You lie, and you are being
lied to. You are sunk in sin; there is no hope for you. That man's evil
looks! His ugly thoughts! And the thoughts of the other men! They are
all beyond redemption. You are spotted through and through. You don't
know it, but I do."

She got up, kicked the chair from her with her heels, and stared at
Eleanore with her mysterious black eyes: "Never mention this to me
again," she whispered with trembling lips, "never, never!" With that she
went out.

Eleanore felt something like actual loathing for her own sister. Filled
with an indescribable foreboding, she detected in Gertrude the adversary
that fate had marked out for her.

XIV

When the autumn days came on and it began to get cold, Daniel was a
frequent visitor at Jordan's. Although he had a warm stove now of his
own, he took pleasure in remembering the comfortable corner of a year
ago. He had a greater affection for things and rooms than he had for
human beings.

It was rare that he came in contact with Jordan, for now that he was no
longer with the Prudentia, it was hard to locate him: he was doing odd
jobs for a number of concerns, and this kept him more or less on the go.
Benno came home after office hours, only to betake himself to his room,
where he shaved and made himself as elegant-looking as possible for the
social engagements of the evening. He did not like to be alone with
Gertrude, so he never came until after six o'clock, when he knew that
Eleanore would be at home. Realising that Eleanore was diligently
pursuing the study of French and English, and that her evenings were
therefore of great value to her, he begged her not to be disturbed by
his visits. He said that he found nothing so agreeable as sitting still
and saying nothing. After an hour or two, however, he left, murmuring an
indistinct farewell as he did so.

At times he would bring a book with him and read. If he chanced to look
up, he saw Eleanore bending over the writing table, her hair, bathed in
a flood of golden light from the lamp, falling in fine silken threads
over her temples, while her mouth was firmly closed, her lips inclined
to droop at the corners, but in a lovely fashion. Then he saw Gertrude.
She did not wear her hair loose; she put it up in a tight knot above her
neck. He