, rushed over the girl
inspiritingly. Then it occurred to her simply to incline her head
coldly, and leave the man without a word: dignified that, yet possibly
open to misconstruction. So, taking one graceful step toward the door,
Carlisle said, with a sufficiency of distant hauteur:

"You can entertain yourself, I hope? I am going."

The tall young man removed his gaze from the blank space left by Hen's
exit, with a kind of start, and said hurriedly:

"I hope you aren't letting _me_ drive you away? I--I merely stopped a
moment in passing, on a--a professional matter...."

"Why should you imagine that I am anxious to avoid you?"

He said, with gratifying embarrassment: "I naturally couldn't hope
that--you would wish to see me--"

And then suddenly all her just and fortifying resentment seemed to
return to her, and she said with frosty calm:

"Yes, I've rather wanted to see you again. I didn't quite place you
when--I had this opportunity before...."

The man regarded the floor. He looked as if he knew what was coming.

"I've recently read your letter in the 'Post' about my father. Tell me,
what pleasure do you find in writing such wicked untruths about people
who've never harmed you?"

In her mind it had seemed exactly the thing to say, the rebuke which
would put him finally in his place on all scores, show him up completely
to himself. But the moment it was out, it acquired somehow the wrong
sound, jangling and a little shrewish and somewhat common, and she
rather wished she hadn't said it. She had never seen anybody turn pale
so suddenly....

The man wore the same clothes he had worn in the summer-house, she
thought; indubitably the same large four-in-hand, floating the fat white
painted shad, or perch. He was rather better-looking in the face than
she had supposed; and in this light she observed more clearly the rather
odd expression he wore about the eyes, a quality of youthful
hopefulness, a sort of confidingness: not the look of a brick-thrower,
unless you happened to know the facts in the case. All this, of course,
was his own lookout. If he wanted to say and do outrageous things, he
had no right to appear so pained when he got his merited punishment. He
had no right to put on that appealing look. He had no right to
be lame....

"It is perfectly natural for you to say and think that," he was saying
with an odd air of introspection, quite as if he were reassuring
somebody inside of him. "I don't thin