And then, for the first time, he realised his utter responsibility to this girl who so gaily and audaciously relieved him of it. And he understood how pitifully unarmed she really stood, and how imminent the necessity for him to forge for himself the armour of character, and to wear it eternally for his own safety as well as hers. "Good night, dear," he said. In her new and magnificent self-confidence she turned and put both arms around his neck, drawing his lips against hers. But after he had gone she leaned against the closed door, less confident, her heart beating too fast and hard to entirely justify this new enfranchisement of the body, or her overwhelming faith in its wise and trusted guardian, the mind. And he went soberly on his way through the rain to his hotel, troubled but determined upon his new role as his own soul's armourer. All that was in him of romance and of chivalry was responding passionately to the girl's unconscious revelation of her new need. For now he realised that her boasted armour was of gauze; he could see her naked heart beating behind it; he beheld, through the shield she lifted on high to protect them both, the moon shining with its false, reflected light. Never did Athalie stand in such dire need of the armour she supposed that she was wearing. And he must put on his own, rapidly, and rivet it fast--the inflexible mail of character which alone can shield such souls as his--and hers. * * * * * When he came into his own room, a thick letter from his wife lay on the table. Before he broke the seal he laid aside his wet garments, being in no haste to read any more of the now incessant reproaches and complaints with which Winifred had recently deluged him. [Illustration: "Finally ... he cut the envelope and seated himself beside the lamp."] Finally, when he was ready, he cut the envelope and seated himself beside the lamp. She wrote from the house in Kent: "It was a very different matter when you were travelling about and I could say that you were off on another exploring expedition. But your return from South America was mentioned in the London papers; and the fact that you are now not only in New York but that you have also gone into business there is known and is the subject of comment. "I shall be, as usual, perfectly frank with you; I do not care whether you are here or not; in fact I infinitely prefer your absence to your presence. But your engaging in business in New York is a very different matter, and creates a different situation for me. "You like to travel. Why don't you do it? I don't care to be the subject of gossip; and I shall be--am, no doubt, already,--because you are making the situation too plain and too public.