t care to reveal himself to her; and yet she
thought she could do so much to help him. She felt that tears were
beginning to gather in her eyes, and she would not for all the world
that he should see them.

'I thought we were friends,' she said, giving out the words very much as
a child might give them out--and, indeed, her heart was much more as
that of a little child than she herself knew or than he knew then; for
she had not the least idea that she was in love or likely to be in love
with the Dictator. Her free, energetic, wild-falcon spirit had never as
yet troubled itself with thoughts of such kind. She had made a hero for
herself out of the Dictator--she almost adored him; but it was with the
most genuine hero-worship--or fetish-worship, if that be the better and
harsher way of putting it--and she had never thought of being in love
with him. Her highest ambition up to this hour was to be his friend and
to be admitted to his confidence, and--oh, happy recognition!--to be
consulted by him. When she said 'I thought we were friends,' she jumped
up and went towards the window to hide the emotion which she knew was
only too likely to make itself felt.

The Dictator got up and followed her. 'We are friends,' he said.

She looked brightly round at him, but perhaps he saw in her eyes that
she had been feeling a keen disappointment.

'You think my professed friendship mere girlish inquisitiveness--you
know you do,' she said, for she was still angry.

'Indeed I do not,' he said earnestly. 'I have had no friendship since I
came back an outcast to England--no friendship like that given to me by
you----'

She turned round delightedly towards him.

'And by your father.'

And again, she could not tell why, she turned partly away.

'But the truth is,' he went on to say, 'I have no clearly defined plans
as yet.'

'You don't mean to give in?' she asked eagerly.

He smiled at her impetuosity. She blushed slightly as she saw his smile.

'Oh I know,' she exclaimed, 'you think me an impertinent schoolgirl, and
you only laugh at me.'

'I do nothing of the kind. It is only too much of a pleasure to me to
talk to you on terms of friendship. Look here, I wish we could do as
people used to do in the old melodramas, and swear an eternal
friendship.'

'I swear an eternal friendship to you,' she exclaimed, 'whether you like
it or not,' and, obeying the wild impulse of the hour, she held out both
her hands.

He took them both