Or perhaps--perhaps she had profited by the more cheerful though equally important lesson of the playground; learned that whether the game of life be fast or slow, dull or amusing, matters little when you are knocked out in the first round (she herself had had many rounds, not counting Mr. Jackson); that in these circumstances one may still find considerable entertainment in looking on; and that in any case the player is not for the game, but the game for the player. The player--who may be left on the ground long after all games have been played out. But this is to suppose that Audrey was a philosopher, which is manifestly absurd. Perhaps! More likely than not her revelation came when she was least looking for it, stumbling by the merest accident on one of "the great things of life," the eternal, the incomprehensible; for of these some say that the greatest is love. It is certainly the most incomprehensible. She may have loved Mr. Jackson. If she did not, she has never let him know it. THE END +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Transcriber's note | | | | The spelling of the following words which appear to be | | printers errors has been changed. | | | | gods to goods | | effection to affection | | it to if | | undergratuate to undergraduate | | | | | | Other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's | | spelling has been maintained. | | | | | | Passages in italic font are indicated by _italic_. | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+