certain types of men.

"And the man acts," completed Armine.

"And the woman acts, too, and better than the man," the Doctor thought
to himself.

Again his admiration was stirred, this time by the sledge-hammer
boldness of Mrs. Chepstow, by her complete though so secret defiance of
himself.

"But what were you thinking about?" Armine continued, earnestly. "I
noticed how preoccupied you were even when you came into the room."

"Did you? I was thinking about a conversation I had this afternoon.
Oddly enough"--she turned slowly towards Meyer Isaacson--"it was with a
doctor."

"Indeed?" he said, looking her full in the face.

"Yes."

She turned away, and once more spoke to Armine.

"I went this afternoon to a doctor, Mr. Armine, to consult him about a
friend of mine who is ill and obstinate, and we had a most extraordinary
talk about the soul and the body. A sort of fight it was. He thought me
a typical silly woman. I'm sure of that."

"Why?"

"Because I suppose I took a sentimental view of our subject. We women
always instinctively take the sentimental view, you know. My doctor was
severely scientific and frightfully sceptical. He thought me an absurd
visionary."

"And what did you think him?"

"I'm afraid I thought him a crass materialist. He had doctored the body
until he was able to believe only in the body. He referred everything
back to the body. Every emotion, according to him, was only caused by
the terminal of a nerve vibrating in a cell contained in the grey matter
of the brain. I dare say he thinks the most passionate love could be
operated for. And as to any one having an immortal soul--well, I did
dare, being naturally fearless, just to mention the possibility of my
possessing such a thing. But I was really sorry afterwards."

"Tell us why."

"Because it brought upon me such an avalanche of scorn and arguments. I
didn't much mind the scorn, but the arguments bored me."

"Did they convince you?"

"Mr. Armine! Now, did you ever know a woman convinced of anything by
argument?"

He laughed.

"Then you still believe that you have an immortal soul?"

"More, far more, than ever."

She was laughing, too. But, quite suddenly, the laughter died out of
her, and she said, with an earnest face:

"I wouldn't let any one--any one--take some of my beliefs from me."

The tone of her voice was almost fierce in its abrupt doggedness.

"I must have some coffee," she added, with a complete change of