for a few
minutes--to hear me till I got through--and then he would know well
enough what I was after. I could see that my manner, if not my words,
had aroused his curiosity; thus emboldened, I plunged right in. I told
him of my love for Belle."

The two of them then and there verified this all-absorbing fact by
another interchange of ardent glances. Heaven knows, neither of them
was in the least self-conscious or at all shy over the matter. Miss
Belle seemed to glory in it; to accept his unspoken professions of
devotion with a joyous sort of triumph which crowned her haughty beauty
with the shining mien of a conqueror.

I thought of Mr. Fluette, financier, speculator, man of affairs that he
was, and concluded that I did not at all envy him his self-imposed task
of keeping asunder these two lovers. I wondered, too, in the event he
could be brought to appreciate the depth and sincerity of their
attachment, whether his opposition would still remain obdurate. If so,
the future must be dark and stormy--if not tragic--for him. Here was a
woman, if I read aright, capable of great sacrifices; she was ready to
rush headlong into them, too, if need be.

Ah, well! When did a parent and a lover ever see things from the same
point of view?

Maillot did not pause long.

"When I first mentioned her name,--for as I had to do so, I did it
boldly,--his interest quickened, and I was positive that his attention
became more respectful. He seemed to think quite suddenly that what I
had to say might be of some importance, after all.

"Mr. Page was not given to betraying his mind and emotions; indeed, I
believe he was usually credited with possessing an abundance of the
former to the exclusion of the latter. Nevertheless I knew that he was
interested, for it was at this stage that he irritably silenced my
references to the nine-thirty train.

"Swift, I don't know whether I can make you see it in the way I do. It
is all so marvellous and strange; the canvas is so big, and I can't
handle my colors very well. During the course of my narrative he would
smile now and then, or even chuckle, as though hugely delighted over
some aspect of the subject which did not appear to me as being at all
funny; but the instant I paused, he would promptly command me to
proceed.

"Candidly, his attitude was very mystifying; but since he was not only
harkening to me, but doing so with a marked, if peculiar, attention, I
made the best of an e