ess she insisted that I ought to go halves with her in the
day's winnings, and offered me 800 gulden on condition that henceforth,
I gambled only on those terms; but I refused to do so, once and for
all--stating, as my reason, that I found myself unable to play on
behalf of any one else, "I am not unwilling so to do," I added, "but in
all probability I should lose."

"Well, absurd though it be, I place great hopes on your playing of
roulette," she remarked musingly; "wherefore, you ought to play as my
partner and on equal shares; wherefore, of course, you will do as I
wish."

Then she left me without listening to any further protests on my part.

III

On the morrow she said not a word to me about gambling. In fact, she
purposely avoided me, although her old manner to me had not changed:
the same serene coolness was hers on meeting me--a coolness that was
mingled even with a spice of contempt and dislike. In short, she was at
no pains to conceal her aversion to me. That I could see plainly. Also,
she did not trouble to conceal from me the fact that I was necessary to
her, and that she was keeping me for some end which she had in view.
Consequently there became established between us relations which, to a
large extent, were incomprehensible to me, considering her general
pride and aloofness. For example, although she knew that I was madly in
love with her, she allowed me to speak to her of my passion (though she
could not well have showed her contempt for me more than by permitting
me, unhindered and unrebuked, to mention to her my love).

"You see," her attitude expressed, "how little I regard your feelings,
as well as how little I care for what you say to me, or for what you
feel for me." Likewise, though she spoke as before concerning her
affairs, it was never with complete frankness. In her contempt for me
there were refinements. Although she knew well that I was aware of a
certain circumstance in her life of something which might one day cause
her trouble, she would speak to me about her affairs (whenever she had
need of me for a given end) as though I were a slave or a passing
acquaintance--yet tell them me only in so far as one would need to know
them if one were going to be made temporary use of. Had I not known the
whole chain of events, or had she not seen how much I was pained and
disturbed by her teasing insistency, she would never have thought it
worthwhile to soothe me with this frankness--even thou