nsion. He himself had begun to realize the nervous excitement of
a first night, when the work of many months is at last presented in its
concrete form. He was content to believe that all that had depressed him
in Louise's demeanor had been due to this cause--to anxiety about her
success, to the artistic dissatisfaction evolved by the struggle between
her desire to conform to the prejudices of the critics and her wish to
present truthfully the work of the great French dramatist. Once it was
all over and the verdict given, relaxation would come. He was content to
wait.

He had no trouble in finding Lady Hilda's cottage in Bourne End--a long,
white bungalow-looking building, surrounded by a little stream which
led down to the river. A man servant took his dressing case from the
back of the car and showed him the way to the garage. Lady Hilda herself
came strolling up the lawn and waved her hand.

"Now what about my week-end on the river?" she exclaimed, as they shook
hands. "Isn't it delightful? I have ordered lunch early--do you
mind?--and I thought, if you felt energetic, it's not too cold for you
to take me out on the river; or, if you feel lazy, I'll take you."

"I am not much of an oarsman," John told her, "but I certainly won't ask
you to pull me about!"

She led him into the little dining room and answered the question in his
eyes when he saw the table laid for two.

"Colonel and Mrs. Dauncey are coming down this afternoon," she said,
"and my brother Fred will be here in time for dinner. I wired to Mrs.
Henderson--the woman who writes novels, you know--to come down, too, if
she can, but I haven't heard from her. I have been looking at the river
this morning, and it's almost like glass; and I can see little specks of
green in the flower-beds where my bulbs are coming up. Richards will
show you your room now, if you like, and we'll have lunch in ten
minutes."

John found his cottage bedroom, with its view of the river, delightful,
and at luncheon Lady Hilda showed him the side of herself that he liked
best. She talked of her travels, and of big-game shooting. Afterward
they sauntered out to the stream, and John, selecting the more stable of
the two boats moored to the little landing-stage, pulled out into the
river. Lady Hilda, in a fur coat, leaned back on a pile of cushions and
watched him, with a cigarette between her lips. He found the exercise
stimulating and delightful. Some of the color which he had lost