unbound, her lips were parted, and her dark eyes were
peculiarly brilliant; through the opening of her lacy negligee her
round, white neck and swelling bosom were exposed. It was a head, a
bust, to be remembered.

"I--You got to--hold me," she said, huskily, and he felt her body
shrink close to his. She clung tightly to him, trembling at first, then
shaking in every limb. Fright, it seemed, had suddenly mastered Allie
Briskow.

Gray endeavored for a moment to soothe her, then gently to loosen her
hold; he spoke to her as he would have spoken to a terrified child, but
the wildness of her emotion matched the wildness of the night, and her
strength was nearly equal to his. Knowing her as he did, this abysmal
terror was inexplicable; such abandon was entirely out of keeping with
her. But she had acted queerly ever since--Gray was ashamed of the
thought that leaped into his mind; he hated himself for harboring it.
He hated himself also for the thrill that coursed through him at
contact with this disheveled creature. The touch of her flesh disturbed
him unbearably. Roughly he tore her arms from about his neck and put
her away from him; by main strength he forced her into a chair, then
snatched a covering of some sort from the bed and folded it around her
shoulders. His voice was hoarse--to him it sounded almost brutal as he
said:

"Get hold of yourself! We're in no great danger, really. Now then, a
light will help us both." With clumsy hands he struck a match and lit
the lamp. "Light's a great thing--drives away foolishness--nightmares
and fancies of all sorts." Without looking at her he seized the
electric torch and muttered: "I'll take a look around, just to see that
things are snug. Back presently."

Gray despised himself thoroughly when the turmoil within him persisted;
when he still felt the unruly urge to return whence he had come. Wild
horses! That was how Gus Briskow had described his children. Well,
Allie had followed Buddy's example and jumped the fence. Here was
something unique in the way of an experience, sure enough; here were
forces at play as savage and as destructive as those that lit the
heavens. The girl was magnificent, maddening--and he was running away
from her! He, a man of the world, as ruthless as most men of his type!
It was a phenomenon to awaken sardonic mirth. He wondered what had come
over him. He had changed, indeed.

Could it be that he had read a wrong significance into Allie's actions?