No，ofcoursenot，’hemurmuredabstractedly，risingtohisfeetandcrossingtheroomtothepiano。Then，withanelaborateairoftryingtoappearverynatural，heaskedjovially：
　　Anythingnewtoplaytome？’
　　Alicearoseatonce。
　　Yes。IhavealittlenocturnethatIwasplayingtoMr。Calderwelllastnight。’
　　Oh，toCalderwell!’Arkwrighthadstiffenedperceptibly。
　　Yes。_He_didn’tlikeit。I’llplayittoyouandseewhatyousay，’shesmiled，seatingherselfatthepiano。
　　Well，ifhehadlikedit，it’ssafetosayI
　　shouldn’t，’shruggedArkwright。
　　Nonsense!’laughedthegirl，beginningtoappearmorelikehernaturalself。IshouldthinkyouwereMr。CyrilHenshaw!Mr。Calderwell_is_partialtoragtime，I’lladmit。Buttherearesomegoodthingshelikes。’
　　Thereare，indeed，_some_goodthingshelikes，’
　　returnedArkwright，withgrimemphasis，hissombereyesfixedonwhathebelievedtobetheoneespecialobjectofCalderwell’saffectionsatthemoment。
　　Alice，unawarebothofthemelancholygazebentuponherselfandofthecausethereof，laughedagainmerrily。
　　PoorMr。Calderwell，’shecried，assheletherfingersslideintosoft，introductorychords。Heisn’ttoblamefornotlikingwhathecallsourlostspiritsthatwail。It’sjustthewayhe’smade。’
　　Arkwrightvouchsafednoreply。Withanabruptgestureheturnedandbegantopacetheroommoodily。AtthepianoAliceslippedfromthechordsintothenocturne。Sheplayeditstraightthrough，then，withacharmandskillthatbroughtArkwright’sfeettoapausebeforeitwashalffinished。
　　ByGeorge，that’sgreat!’hebreathed，whenthelasttonehadquiveredintosilence。
　　Yes，isn’tit——beautiful？’shemurmured。
　　Theroomwasveryquiet，andinsemi-darkness。
　　ThelastraysofalateJunesunsethadbeenfillingtheroomwithgoldenlight，butitwasgonenow。
　　Evenatthepianobythewindow，Alicehadbarelybeenabletoseeclearlyenoughtoreadthenotesofhernocturne。
　　ToArkwrighttheairstilltrembledwiththeexquisitemelodythathadbutjustleftherfingers。
　　Aquickfirecametohiseyes。HeforgoteverythingbutthatitwasAlicethereinthehalf-lightbythewindow——Alice，whomheloved。Withalowcryhetookaswiftsteptowardher。
　　Alice!’
　　Instantlythegirlwasonherfeet。Butitwasnottowardhimthatsheturned。Itwasaway——
　　resolutely，andwithahastethatwasstrangelyliketerror。
　　Alice，too，hadforgotten，forjustamoment。
　　Shehadletherselfdriftintoadreamworldwheretherewasnothingbutthemusicshewasplayingandthemansheloved。Thenthemusichadstopped，andthemanhadspokenhername。
　　Alicerememberedthen。SherememberedBilly，whomthismanloved。Sherememberedthelongdaysjustpassedwhenthismanhadstayedaway，presumablytoteach_her_——tosave_her_。Andnow，atthesoundofhisvoicespeakinghername，shehadalmostbaredherhearttohim。
　　NowonderthatAlice，withahastethatlookedliketerror，crossedthefloorandfloodedtheroomwithlight。
　　Dearme!’sheshivered，carefullyavoidingArkwright’seyes。IfMr。Calderwellwereherenowhe’dhavesomeexcusetotalkaboutourlostspiritsthatwail。That_is_acreepypieceofmusicwhenyouplayitinthedark!’And，forfearthatheshouldsuspecthowherheartwasaching，shegaveaparticularlybrilliantandjoyoussmile。
　　OnceagainatthementionofCalderwell’snameArkwrightstiffenedperceptibly。Thefirelefthiseyes。Foramomenthedidnotspeak；then，gravely，hesaid：
　　Calderwell？Yes，perhapshewould；and——
　　yououghttobeajudge，Ishouldthink。Youseehimquitefrequently，don’tyou？’
　　Why，yes，ofcourse。Heoftencomesouthere，youknow。’
　　Yes；Ihadheardthathedid——since_you_
　　came。’
　　Hismeaningwasunmistakable。Alicelookedupquickly。Apromptdenialofhisimplicationwasonherlipswhenthethoughtcametoherthatperhapsjustherelayasurewaytoprovetothismanbeforeherthattherewas，indeed，noneedforhimtoteachher，tosaveher，oryettosympathizewithher。Shecouldnotaffirm，ofcourse；butsheneednotdeny——yet。
　　Nonsense!’shelaughedlightly，pleasedthatshecouldfeelwhatshehopedwouldpassforatelltalecolorburninghercheeks。Come，letustrysomeduets，’sheproposed，leadingthewaytothepiano。AndArkwright，interpretingtheapparentlyembarrassedchangeofsubjectexactlyasshehadhopedthathewouldinterpretit，followedher，sickatheart。
　　`Owertthouinthecauldblast，’’sangArkwright’slipsafewmomentslater。
　　Ican’ttellhernow——whenI_know_shecaresforCalderwell，’gloomilyranhisthoughts，thewhile。Itwoulddonopossiblegood，andwouldonlymakeherunhappytogrieveme。’
　　`Owertthouinthecauldblast，’’chimedinAlice’salto，lowandsweet。
　　Ireckonnowhewon’tbestayingawayfromhereanymorejustto_save_me!’ranAlice’sthoughts，palpitatinglytriumphant。
　　ArkwrightdidnotcalltoseeAliceGreggoryforsomedays。HedidnotwanttoseeAlicenow。
　　Hetoldhimselfwearilythatshecouldnothelphimfightthistigerskinthatlayacrosshispath，Theveryfactofherpresencebyhissidewould，indeed，incapacitatehimselfforfighting。SohedeliberatelystayedawayfromtheAnnexuntilthedaybeforehesailedforGermany。Thenhewentouttosaygood-by。
　　Chagrinedashewasatwhathetermedhisimbecilestupidityinnotknowinghisownheartallthesepastmonths，andconvinced，ashealsowas，thatAliceandCalderwellcaredforeachother，hecouldseenowayforhimbuttoplaythepartofamanofkindlinessandhonor，leavingaclearfieldforhispreferredrival，andbringingnoshadowofregrettomarthehappinessofthegirlheloved。
　　Asforbeinghisoldeasy，frankselfonthislastcall，however，thatwasimpossible；soAlicefoundplentyoffuelforherstillburningfiresofsuspicion——fireswhichhad，indeed，blazedupanewatthissecondlongperiodofabsenceonthepartofArkwright。Naturally，therefore，thecallwasanythingbutajoyandcomforttoeitherone。
　　Arkwrightwasnervous，gloomy，andabnormallygaybyturns。Alicewasnervousandabnormallygayallthetime。Thentheysaidgood-byandArkwrightwentaway。Hesailedthenextday，andAlicesettleddowntothesummerofstudyandhardworkshehadlaidoutforherself。
　　OnthetenthofSeptemberBillycamehome。
　　Shewasbrown，plump-cheeked，andsmiling。Shedeclaredthatshehadhadaperfectlybeautifultime，andthattherecouldn’tbeanythingintheworldnicerthanthetripsheandBertramhadtaken——justtheytwotogether。InanswertoAuntHannah’ssolicitousinquiries，sheassertedthatshewasallwellandrestednow。ButtherewasavaguelytroubledquestioninginhereyesthatAuntHannahdidnotquitelike。AuntHannah，however，saidnothingeventoBillyherselfaboutthis。
　　OneofthefirstfriendsBillysawafterherreturnwasHughCalderwell。AsithappenedBertramwasoutwhenhecame，soBillyhadthefirsthalf-
　　hourofthecalltoherself。Shewasnotsorryforthis，asitgaveherachancetoquestionCalderwellalittleconcerningAliceGreggory——somethingshehadlongagodeterminedtodoatthefirstopportunity。
　　Nowtellmeeverything——everythingabouteverybody，’shebegandiplomatically，settlingherselfcomfortablyforagoodvisit。
　　Thankyou，I’mwell，andhavehadapassablyagreeablesummer，barringtheheat，sundrypersistentmosquitoes，severalgrievousdisappointments，andafelononmythumb，’hebegan，withshamelessimperturbability。IhavebeentoRevereonce，tothecircusonce，toNantasketthreetimes，andtoKeith’sandthe`movies’tentimes，perhaps——tobeaccurate。Ihavealso——
　　Butperhapstherewassomeoneelseyoudesiredtoinquirefor，’hebrokeoff，turninguponhishostessablandbutunsmilingcountenance。
　　Oh，no，howcouldtherebe？’twinkledBilly。
　　Really，Hugh，Ialwaysknewyouhadaprettygoodopinionofyourself，butIdidn’tcredityouwiththinkingyouwere_everybody_。Goon。I’msointerested!’
　　Hughchuckledsoftly；buttherewasaplaintivetoneinhisvoiceasheanswered。
　　Thanks，no。I’veratherlostmyinterestnow。Lackofappreciationalwaysdiddiscourageme。We’lltalkofsomethingelse，please。Youenjoyedyourtrip？’
　　Verymuch。Itjustcouldn’thavebeennicer!’
　　Youwerelucky。Theheatherehasbeensomethingfierce!’
　　Whatmadeyoustay？’
　　Reasonstoonumerous，andonetooheart-
　　breaking，tomention。Besides，youforget，’withdignity。Thereismyprofession。Ihavejoinedtheworkersoftheworldnow，youknow。’
　　Oh，fudge，Hugh!’laughedBilly。Youknowverywellyou’reaslikelyasnottostartfortheendsoftheearthto-morrowmorning!’
　　Hughdrewhimselfup。
　　Idon’tseemtosucceedinmakingpeopleunderstandthatI’mserious，’hebeganaggrievedly。
　　I——’Withanexpressiveflourishofhishandsherelaxedsuddenly，andfellbackinhischair。Aslowsmilecametohislips。
　　Well，Billy，I’llgiveup。You’vehitit，’heconfessed。I_have_thoughtseriouslyofstartingto-
　　morrowmorningfor_half-way_totheendsoftheearth——Panama。’
　　Hugh!’
　　Well，Ihave。Eventhiscallwastobeagood-by——ifIwent。’
　　Oh，Hugh!ButIreallythought——inspiteofmyteasing——thatyouhadsettleddown，thistime。’
　　Yes，sodidI，’sighedtheman，alittlesoberly。
　　ButIguessit’snouse，Billy。Oh，I’mcomingback，ofcourse，andlinkarmsagainwiththeirworthyHighnesses，JohnDoeandRichardRoe；
　　butjustnowI’vegotarestlessfitonme。Iwanttoseethewheelsgo’round。Ofcourse，ifIhadmybreadandbutterandcigarstoearn，’twouldbedifferent。ButIhaven’t，andIknowIhaven’t；
　　andIsuspectthat’swherethetroublelies。Ifitwasn’tforthosenatalsilverspoonsofminethatBertramisalwaystalkingabout，thingsmightbedifferent。Butthespoonsarethere，andalwayshavebeen；andIknowthey’reallreadytodishoutmountainstoclimbandlakestopaddlein，anytimeI’veamindtosaytheword。So——I
　　justsaytheword。That’sall。’
　　Andyou’vesaiditnow？’
　　Yes，Ithinkso；forawhile。’
　　And——thosereasonsthat_have_keptyouhereallsummer，’venturedBilly，theyaren’tin——
　　er——commissionanylonger？’
　　No。’
　　Billyhesitated，regardinghercompanionmeditatively。Then，withthefeelingthatshehadfollowedablindalleytoitstermination，sheretreatedandmadeafreshstart。
　　Well，youhaven’tyettoldmeeverythingabouteverybody，youknow，’shehintedsmilingly。Youmightbeginthat——Imeanthelessimportanteverybodies，ofcourse，nowthatI’veheardaboutyou。’
　　Meaning——’
　　Oh，AuntHannah，andtheGreggorys，andCyrilandMarie，andthetwins，andMr。Arkwright，andalltherest。’
　　Butyou’vehadletters，surely。’
　　Yes，I’vehadlettersfromsomeofthem，andI’veseenmostofthemsinceIcameback。It’sjustthatIwantedtoknow_your_viewpointofwhat’shappenedthroughthesummer。’
　　Verywell。AuntHannahisasdearasever，wearsjustasmanyshawls，andstillkeepsherclockstrikingtwelvewhenit’shalf-pasteleven。
　　Mrs。Greggoryisjustassweetasever——andalittlemorefrail，Ifear，——blessherheart!Mr。