kable fact that Frank, in spite of
opportunities to better himself, had remained in their company. At
Barham, at Doctor Whitty's, at the monastery, obvious chances had
offered themselves and he had not taken them. Then there were the small
acts of courtesy, the bearing of Gertie's bundles two or three times.
Finally, there was a certain change in Gertie's manner--a certain silent
peevishness towards himself, a curious air that fell on her now and then
as she spoke to Frank or looked at him.

And so forth. It was an extraordinarily convincing case, clinched now
by the little scene that he had just interrupted. And the very
irregularity of his own relations with Gertie helped to poison the
situation with an astonishingly strong venom.

Of course, there were other considerations, or, rather, there was
one--that Frank, obviously, was not the kind of man to be attracted by
the kind of woman that Gertie was--a consideration made up, however, of
infinitely slighter indications. But this counted for nothing. It seemed
unsubstantial and shadowy. There were solid, definable arguments on the
one side; there was a vague general impression on the other....

So the Major sat and stared at the fire, with the candle-light falling
on his sunken cheeks and the bristle on his chin--a poor fallen kind of
figure, yet still holding the shadow of a shadow of an ideal that might
yet make him dangerous.

Presently he got up with a sudden movement and went in search of Gertie.

(III)

There are no free libraries in Hackney Wick; the munificences of Mr.
Carnegie have not yet penetrated to that district (and, indeed, the
thought of a library of any kind in Hackney Wick is a little
incongruous). But there is one in Homerton, and during the dinner-hour
on the following day Frank went up the steps of it, pushed open the
swing-doors, and found his way to some kind of a writing-room, where he
obtained a sheet of paper, an envelope and a penny stamp, and sat down
to write a letter.

The picture that I have in my mind of Frank at this present time may
possibly be a little incorrect in one or two details, but I am quite
clear about its main outlines, and it is extremely vivid on the whole. I
see him going in, quietly and unostentatiously--quite at his ease, yet a
very unusual figure in such surroundings. I hear an old gentleman sniff
and move his chair a little as this person in an exceedingly shabby blue
suit with the collar turned up, with a m