, you toss all
your spare bones to the war-dogs. Otherwise, Quakerly preaching is taken
for hypocrisy.'

'I 'm afraid we are illogical, sir,' said Skepsey, adopting one of the
charges of Mr. Durance, to elude the abominable word.

'In you run, my friend.' Dartrey sped him up the steps of the hotel.

A little note lay on his breakfast-table. His invalid uncle's valet gave
the morning's report of the night.

The note was from Mrs. Blathenoy: she begged Captain Dartrey, in double
underlinings of her brief words, to mount the stairs. He debated, and he
went.

She was excited, and showed a bosom compressed to explode: she had been
weeping. 'My husband is off. He bids me follow him. What would you have
me do?'

'Go.'

'You don't care what may happen to your friends, the Radnors?'

'Not at the cost of your separation from your husband.'

'You have seen him!'

'Be serious.'

'Oh, you cold creature! You know--you see: I can't conceal. And you tell
me to go. "Go!" Gracious heavens! I've no claim on you; I haven't been
able to do much; I would have--never mind! believe me or not. And now I'm
to go: on the spot, I suppose. You've seen the man I 'm to go to, too. I
would bear it, if it were not away from . . . out of sight of I'm a fool
of a woman, I know. There's frankness for you! and I could declare you're
saying "impudence" in your heart--or what you have for one. Have you
one?'

'My dear soul, it 's a flint. So just think of your duty.' Dartrey played
the horrid part of executioner with some skill.

Her bosom sprang to descend into abysses.

'And never a greater fool than when I sent for you to see such a face as
I'm showing!' she cried, with lips that twitched and fingers that plucked
at her belt. 'But you might feel my hatred of being tied to--dragged
about over the Continent by that . . . perhaps you think a woman is not
sensible of vulgarity in her husband! I 'm bothering you? I don't say I
have the slightest claim. You never made love to me, never! Never so much
as pressed my hand or looked. Others have--as much as I let them. And
before I saw you, I had not an idea of another man but that man. So you
advise me to go?'

'There's no other course.'

'No other course. I don't see one. What have I been dreaming of! Usually
a woman feeling . . .' she struck at her breast, 'has had a soft word in
her ear. "Go!" I don't blame you, Captain Dartrey. At least, you 're not
the man to punish a woman for stripping