along the
corridors of my pet palace into which I had so hastily introduced her;
and on reflection I began to see that it wouldn't work properly. I had
made a mistake, and those were not the surroundings in which she was
most fitted to shine. However, it really did not matter much; I had
other palaces to place at her disposal--plenty of 'em; and on a further
acquaintance with and knowledge of her tastes, no doubt I could find
something to suit her.

There was a real Arabian one, for instance, which I visited but
rarely--only just when I was in the fine Oriental mood for it; a wonder
of silk hangings, fountains of rosewater, pavilions, and minarets.
Hundreds of silent, well-trained slaves thronged the stairs and alleys
of this establishment, ready to fetch and carry for her all day, if she
wished it; and my brave soldiers would be spared the indignity. Also
there were processions through the bazaar at odd moments--processions
with camels, elephants, and palanquins. Yes, she was more suited for
the East, this imperious young person; and I determined that thither she
should be personally conducted as soon as ever might be.

I reached the fence and climbed up two bars of it, and leaning over I
looked this way and that for my twin-souled partner of the morning. It
was not long before I caught sight of her, only a short distance away.
Her back was towards me and--well, one can never foresee exactly how one
will find things--she was talking to a Boy.

Of course there are boys and boys, and Lord knows I was never narrow.
But this was the parson's son from an adjoining village, a red-headed
boy and as common a little beast as ever stepped. He cultivated
ferrets--his only good point; and it was evidently through the medium
of this art that he was basely supplanting me, for her head was bent
absorbedly over something he carried in his hands. With some trepidation
I called out, "Hi!" But answer there was none. Then again I called, "Hi!"
but this time with a sickening sense of failure and of doom. She replied
only by a complex gesture, decisive in import if not easily described.
A petulant toss of the head, a jerk of the left shoulder, and a backward
kick of the left foot, all delivered at once--that was all, and that
was enough. The red-headed boy never even condescended to glance my way.
Why, indeed, should he? I dropped from the fence without another effort,
and took my way homewards along the weary road.

Little inclination