nvas, placed it on his heavy
easel and clamped it.

"I feel exactly like painting," he continued, busy with his brushes
and colours. "I'm full of it to-day. It's in me. It's got to come
out.... And you certainly are an interesting subject--with your big
grey eyes and bobbed red hair--oh, quite interesting constructively,
too--as well as from the colour point."

He finished setting his palette, gathered up a handful of brushes:

"I won't bother to draw you except with a brush----"

He looked across at her, remained looking, the pleasantly detached
expression of his features gradually changing to curiosity, to the
severity of increasing interest, to concentrated and silent
absorption.

"Dulcie," he presently concluded, "you are so unusually interesting
and paintable that you make me think very seriously.... And I'm hanged
if I'm going to waste you by slapping a technically adequate sketch of
you onto this nice new canvas ... which might give me pleasure while
I'm doing it ... and might even tickle my vanity for a week ... and
then be laid away to gather dust ... and be covered over next year and
used for another sketch.... No.... _No_!... You're worth more than
that!"

He began to pace the place to and fro, thinking very hard, glancing
around at her from moment to moment, where she stood, obediently
immovable on the blue meshed rug, clasping the Prophet to her breast.

"Do you want to become my private model?" he demanded abruptly. "I
mean seriously. Do you?"

"Yes."

"I mean a real model, from whom I can ask anything?"

"Oh, yes, please," pleaded the girl, trembling a little.

"Do you understand what it means?"

"Yes."

"Sometimes you'll be required to wear few clothes. Sometimes none. Did
you know that?"

"Yes. Mr. Westmore asked me once."

"You didn't care to?"

"Not for him."

"You don't mind doing it for me?"

"I'll do anything you ask me," she said, trying to smile and shivering
with excitement.

"All right. It's a bargain. You're my model, Dulcie. When do you
graduate from school?"

"In June."

"Two months! Well--all right. Until then it will be a half day through
the week, and all day Saturdays and Sundays, if I require you. You'll
have a weekly salary----" He smiled and mentioned the figure, and the
girl blushed vividly. She had, it appeared, expected nothing.

"Why, Dulcie!" he exclaimed, immensely amused. "You didn't intend to
come here and give me all your time for nothing, did