Friends came, remained, and went,--Cecil Reeve, gay, charmed with everything, and, as always, mischievously ready to pay court to her; Francis Hargrave, politely surprised but full of courteous admiration for her good taste; John Lyndhurst, Grismer, Harry Ferris, Young Welter, Arthur Ensart, and James Allys,--all were bidden for the day; all came, marvelled in the several manners characteristic of them, and finally went their various ways, serving only, as always, to make clearer to her the fadeless memory of an absent man. For, to her, the merest thought of him was more real, more warm and vivid, than all of these, even while their eager eyes sought hers and their voices were sounding in her ears. Nina Grey came with Anne Randolph for a week-end; and then came Jeanne Delauny, and Adele Millis. The memory of their visits lingered with Athalie as long, perhaps, as the scent of roses hangs in a dim, still room before the windows are open in the morning to the outer air. The first of August a cicada droned from the hill-top woods and all her garden became saturated with the homely and bewitching odour of old-fashioned rockets. On the grey wall nasturtiums blazed; long stretches of brilliant portulaca edged the herbaceous borders; clusters of auratum lilies hung in the transparent shadow of Cydonia and Spirea; and the first great dahlias faced her in maroon splendour from the spiked thickets along the wall. Once or twice she went to town on shopping bent, and on one of these occasions impulse took her to the apartment furnished for her so long ago by Clive. She had not meant to go in, merely intended to pass the house, speak to Michael, perhaps, if indeed, he still presided over door and elevator. And there he was, outside the door on a chair, smoking his clay pipe and surveying the hot and silent street, where not even a sparrow stirred. "Michael," she said, smiling. For a moment he did not know her, then: "God's glory!" he said huskily, getting to his feet--"is it the sweet face o' Miss Greensleeve or the angel in her come back f'r to bless us all?" She gave him her hand, and he held it and looked at her, earnestly, wistfully; then, with the flashing change of his race, the grin broke out: "I'm that proud to be remembered by the likes o' you, Miss Athalie! Are ye well, now?--an' happy? I thank God for that! I am substantial--with my respects, ma'am, f'r the kind inquiry. And Hafiz? Glory be, was there ever such a cat now? D'ye mind the day we tuk him in a bashket?--an' the sufferin' yowls of the poor, dear creature. Sure I'm that glad to hear he's well;--and manny mice to him, Miss Athalie!" Athalie laughed: "I suppose all your tenants are away in the country," she ventured. "Barrin' wan or two, Miss. Ye know the young Master will suffer no one in your own apartment." "Is it still unoccupied, Michael?" "Deed it is, Miss. Would ye care f'r to look around. There is nothing changed there. I dust it meself."