hat she has done, and continue to do
what she does, and be mentally sound. This, at last, is my conclusion."

"It has long been my conclusion," she said under her breath.

He stared at the floor out of gray eyes grown dull and hopeless.

"Phil," whispered his sister, "suppose--suppose--what happened to her
father--"

"I know."

She said again: "It was slow at first, a brilliant eccentricity--that
gradually became--something else less pleasant. Oh, Phil! Phil!"

"It was softening of the brain," he said, "was it not?"

"Yes--he entertained a delusion of conspiracy against him--also a
complacent conviction of the mental instability of others. Yet, at
intervals he remained clever and witty and charming."

"And then?"

"Phil--he became violent at times."

"Yes. And the end?" he asked quietly.

"A little child again--quite happy and content--playing with toys--very
gentle, very pitiable--" The hot tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Phil!" she
sobbed and hid her face on his shoulder.

Over the soft, faintly fragrant hair he stared stupidly, lips apart,
chin loose.

A little later, Nina sat up in the hammock, daintily effacing the traces
of tears. Selwyn was saying: "If this is so, that Ruthven man has got to
stand by her. Where could she go--if such trouble is to come upon her?
To whom can she turn if not to him? He is responsible for her--doubly
so, if her condition is to be--_that_! By every law of manhood he is
bound to stand by her now; by every law of decency and humanity he
cannot desert her now. If she does these--these indiscreet things--and
if he knows she is not altogether mentally responsible--he cannot fail
to stand by her! How can he, in God's name!"

"Phil," she said, "you speak like a man, but she has no man to stand
loyally by her in the direst need a human soul may know. He is only a
thing--no man at all--only a loathsome accident of animated decadence."

He looked up quickly, amazed at her sudden bitterness; and she looked
back at him almost fiercely.

"I may as well tell you what I've heard," she said; "I was not going to,
at first; but it will be all around town sooner or later. Rosamund told
me. She learned--as she manages to learn everything a little before
anybody else hears of it--that Jack Ruthven found out that Alixe was
behaving very carelessly with some man--some silly, callow, and
probably harmless youth. But there was a disgraceful scene on Mr.
Neergard's yacht, the _Niobrara_. I don'