her
end of the room, solemnly smoking a pipe. He did not seem to notice that
Vi's whole body was suffused, nervous.

"Dance," said Lewis.

Vi hesitated a moment and then danced, at first a little stiffly. But
her mind gradually concentrated on her movements; she began to catch the
impersonal working atmosphere of a model.

"Hold that!" cried Lewis, and, a second later: "No, that will never do.
You've stiffened. Try again."

Over and over Vi tried to catch the pose and keep it until, without a
word, she crossed the room, threw herself on a couch, and began to cry
from pure exhaustion. When she had partly recovered, she suddenly awoke
to the fact that Lewis had not come to comfort her. She looked up. Lewis
was still sitting on the bench. He was filling a fresh pipe.

"Blown over?" he asked casually. "Come on. At it again."

At the end of another half-hour Vi gave up the struggle. She had caught
the pose twice, but she had been unable to hold it.

"I give it up," she wailed. "I'll simply never be able to _stay_ that
way."

"If you were a professional dancer," said Lewis, "I'd say 'nonsense' to
that. But you're not. I'm afraid it would take you weeks, perhaps
months, to get the stamina. Take it easy now while I make some tea."

"Tea in the morning!" said Vi. "I can't stand it. I'd rather have a
glass of port or something like that."

"I've no doubt you would, but you're not going to get it," said Lewis,
calmly, as he went about the business of brewing tea.

Vi finished her first cup, and asked for a second.

"It's quite a bracer, after all," she said. "I feel a lot better." She
rose and went to the model's throne at one side of the room. "Is this
where they stand?" she asked.

Lewis nodded.

Vi climbed the throne, and took a pose. Her face was turned from Lewis,
her right arm half outstretched, her left at her side. She was in the
act of stepping. Her long left thigh was salient, yet withdrawing. It
was the pose of one who leads the way.

"This is the pose you will do me in," she said.

For a moment Lewis was silent, then he said gravely:

"No, you don't really want me to do you that way."

"I do, and you will," said Vi, without looking around.

For another long moment Lewis was silent.

"All right," he said at last. "Come down. Dress yourself. You've had
enough for to-day."

CHAPTER XXX

Weeks passed. Lewis worked steadily at his figure of Vi. From the time
the wires had been set and th