f green, here and there the
brown towers of some ancient castle, or the buildings of a farmstead;
and below on the plain the glitter of the winding river. They climbed
to the wooded slopes of Olese, where they sat down to rest. Arithelli
threw herself on the short, dry grass, with her arms under her head,
and drew a long breath of pleasure and relief.

"I love all this; it makes me feel so free."

Emile sat with his back against a huge plane tree, and rolled
cigarettes, watching her under his heavy eyebrows. She looked in her
proper place here, he thought. There was something wild and
animal-like about the grace of her attitude.

"So you're out of a convent?" he said, hurling out the remark with his
usual abruptness. "_Tiens_! It's absurd!"

"But it's true. Convent schools are cheap, you see, that's why we were
sent there. No, I'm not a Catholic. Most of the girls made their
abjurations, but I never did. They told lies there, and they spied. I
hated that. The nuns spied on the children of Mary, and the children
of Mary spied on the ones who were not the children of Mary, and--" she
stopped.

Emile told her to continue. "I should like to hear more about
your--your religious experiences," he said. "Besides, it will do you
more good to talk than to go to sleep."

Arithelli complied at once, with unruffled good nature. "Oh, of course
I'll tell you if you like," she said amiably. "I stopped because I
thought you would probably be bored, _ennuye_, you know."

She described the nuns mumbling their prayers, and punctuating them
with irate commands to the children; the many and various rules, the
_Mere Superieure_, the food, the clothes, the eccentricities of
_Monsieur le Directeur_. She had the rare and unwomanlike art of witty
description, though it assorted badly with her tragic face and
unsmiling eyes. As she talked her voice rippled and broke into
suppressed laughter.

"It was all rather dull, _n'est-ce-pas_?" said Emile, who felt more
amusement than he had any intention of showing. "You'll find the Cause
more exciting."

Before any practical steps were taken to make her a member of the band
it was necessary to stimulate her enthusiasm, her imagination. He knew
that for all her outward calmness she had no lack of fire. The coldest
countries sometimes produced the most raging volcanoes.

"It's the only thing you care about--isn't it--the Cause?" she said.
"Tell me more about it. As I'm goin