eluded him. "Please," she protested coolly, "don't
be tiresome... We must talk."

He followed her by the devious edge of the stream
to the ruined mill. He could see the blurring impress
of the black silk stockings through the web of
her dress; the dress had shrunk from repeated washing,
and drew tightly across her shoulders. She
walked lightly and well, and sat with a graceful
sweep on a fallen, moldering beam. Beyond them
the broad expanse of the mill pond was paved with
still shadows; a dust of minute insects swept above
the clouded surface. The water ran slowly over the
dam, everywhere cushioned with deep moss, and fell
with an eternal splatter on the rocks below.

Gordon rolled a cigarette from the muslin bag of
Green Goose. "Why do you still smoke that
grass?" she demanded curiously. "You could get
the best cigars from Cuba." He explained, and she
regarded him impatiently. "Can't you realize what
possibilities you have!"

"I might, with assistance."

"If you once saw the world! I've been reading
about Paris, the avenues and cafes and theaters.
Why, in the cafes there they drink only champagne
and dance all night. The women come with their
lovers in little closed carriages, and go back to little
closed rooms hung in brocade. They never wear
anything but evening clothes, for they are never out

[[207]]

p206 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p207w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p208

v?