all--"

"Oh, no. No," she said lightly but very firmly. "I couldn't very well,
now, could I?" and Oliver, in spite of all the broadmindedness upon
which he prided himself, was left rather dumb.

"Oh, it won't be--difficult," she added. "We can keep up--in the
office--yes?"

"Yes," said Oliver hastily. He might be signing a compact with all the
powers of darkness, but even so.

"For the rest, I am--used to things like that," she added, and once
again her face grew suddenly bright with pain. Then she recovered
herself.

"Well--our next merry meeting and so forth," she said airily. "Because
when it happens, if it does, I may be so stodgily respectable you'll
be very glad to ask me to dinner, you know. Or I may be--completely
disreputable--one never knows. But in any case," and she gave her hand.

"Mr. Billett must be freezing to death in that car," she murmured.
"Good-by, Oliver, and my best if wholly unrespectable good wishes."
"Thanks and--good luck to you."

She turned on him swiftly.

"Oh, no. All the happiness in the world and _no_ luck---that's better,
isn't it? _Good_-by."

"Good-by."

And then Oliver was out in the hall, pressing the button that would
summon a sleepy, disgruntled elevator-boy to take him down to Ted and
the car. He decided as he waited that few conversations he had ever had
made him feel quite so inescapably, irritatingly young; that he saw to
the last inch of exactitude just why Mr. Piper completely and Ted very
nearly had fallen in love with Mrs. Severance; that she was one of the
most remarkable individuals he had ever met; and that he hoped from the
bottom of his heart he never, never saw her again.

XLIV

Ted and he had little conversation going back in the car. The most
important part of it occurred when they had left New York behind and
were rushing along cool moon-strewn roads to Southampton. Then--

"Thanks," said Ted suddenly and fervently and did not seem to be able to
say anything more.

The events of the evening had come too close, at moments, to grotesque
tragedy for Oliver to pretend to misunderstand him.

"Oh, that's all right. And anyhow I owed you one for that time with the
gendarmes in Brest."

"Maybe," but Ted didn't seem to be convinced. "That was jocose though.
Even at the worst." The words came with effort. "This was--serious. I
owe you about everything, I guess."

"Oh, go take a flying leap at a galloping goose!"

"Go do it yourself. Oh, Oliver