ables, even if occasionally they invited him to perform
for charity in return for a glass of claret and a sandwich. Monsieur
Dauphin had attempted to force the invisible barriers for him, but without
success. All his admirers in the Quarter stuck to it that he was in the
rank of Kreisler and Ysaye; at the same time they were annoyed with him
inasmuch as he did not force the world to acknowledge the prophetic good
taste of the Quarter. And Musa made mistakes. He ought to have arrived at
studios in a magnificent automobile, and to have given superb and
uproarious repasts, and to have rendered innumerable women exquisitely
unhappy. Whereas he arrived by tube or bus, never offered hospitality of
any sort, and was like a cat with women. Hence the attitude of the Quarter
was patronising, as if the Quarter had said: "Yes, he is the greatest
violinist in Paris and perhaps in the world; but that's all, and it isn't
enough."

The young man and the boy made ready for the game as for a gladiatorial
display. Their frowning seriousness proved that they had comprehended the
true British idea of sport. Musa came round the net to Audrey's side, but
Audrey said in French:

"Miss Thompkins and I will play together. See, we are going to beat you and
Gustave."

Musa retired. A few indifferent spectators had collected. Gustave, the
fourth, had to serve.

"Play!" he muttered, in a thick and threatening voice, whose depth was the
measure of his nervousness.

He served a double fault to Tommy, and then a fault to Audrey. The fourth
ball he got over. Audrey played it. The two males rushed with appalling
force together on the centre line in pursuit, and a terrible collision
occurred. Musa fell away from Gustave as from a wall. When he arose out of
the pebbly dust his right arm hung very limp from the shoulder. No sooner
had he risen than he sank again, and the blood began to leave his face, and
his eyes closed. The fourth, having recovered from the collision, knelt
down by his side, and gazed earnestly at him. Tommy and Audrey hurried
towards the statuesque group, and Audrey was thinking: "Why did I refuse to
let him play with me? If he had played with me there would have been no
accident." She reproached herself because she well knew that only out of
the most absurd contrariness had she repulsed Musa. Or was it that she had
repulsed him from fear of something that Tommy might say or look?

In a few seconds, strongly drawn by this marvellou