and she set herself to the task at once. She
turned her attention wholly upon Mr. Strong. She laughed and shined her
eyes at him, referring to the dear, old days in the most shameless
manner. She fairly caressed him with her voice, and his devotion
capped her own.

The Professor ate his lunch oblivious to the comedy, but Jarvis scarcely
touched his. Some new, painful thing was at work in him. He resented it
every time this man looked at Bambi. He wanted to knock him down, and
order her off to her room. Most of all, he was furious with himself for
caring. He had the same instinct which possessed him in New York when he
rushed to the club to sweep her out of his life, and so save himself. He
determined to leave the moment luncheon was over. She must never know
what a bad hour she had given him. Poor, ostrich Jarvis, with his head
in the sands!

The luncheon was one of the most amusing events in Richard Strong's
experience, and as for Bambi, she was at her best. She enjoyed herself
utterly, until coffee put a period to Act Two.

XIII

Mr. Strong's visit left its impress on all three members of the
household. The Professor referred to him as the man with the thirteen
sisters, and wished him reinvited to the house. Bambi treasured the day
he spent with her as a turning point in her life. Surely new vistas
opened up to her as a result of his coming. But to Jarvis the memory of
the day was extremely painful. He took Bambi's punishment very
seriously. He conceived Strong to be a former lover whom she welcomed
back with affectionate ardour. He knew enough of her odd personality to
be totally in the dark as to what she would do if she found herself
suddenly in love with Strong. The main difficulty was, however, that he
cared what she did--he, Jarvis, the free man! He realized that this was
a flag of danger, and he answered the warning by sedulously avoiding
Bambi for the next few days. She was too busy with the plans for the
book to notice, although she caught him looking at her once or twice in
a strange, speculative way. Their peace was broken, however, a few days
after Mr. Strong's famous visit by a letter from the Belasco office,
accompanied by the play. Mr. Belasco regretted that the play was not
just what he wanted. It had some excellent points, etc., but as he had
already arranged for so many productions during the coming season, he
felt he could not take on anything more at present. He would be glad to
read anyth