"What an odd thing of you to do," she said, still confused by the suddenness of his invasion, groping instinctively for the reason. "You left word at the Plaza; _I_ understood," he said, his eyes fairly popping at her, then palely roving around the place. [Illustration: "’So _this_ is your apartment?’ he said."] "So _this_ is your apartment?" he said. "What a discreet and charming little nest!" "I think you don’t understand," she said; "this is Mr. Edgerton’s apartment." He looked at her oddly, then burst into laughter. "You clever girl!" he chuckled. "What!" she said, bewildered. But he only smirked at her. "Look here, little girl," he said, "suppose you begin to make your eyes behave, and come down to actualities. You know what I want; _I_ know what you want. We’ve been wasting time all summer. I’m no fool; neither are you, as you show by selecting this nice, little nook for a good, sensible talk." She only stared at him, thinking he had gone mad, and he laughed and twirled his mustache. "Nix for the baby stare," he said reprovingly. "I tell you I know what a girl like you wants—privacy, discretion, _and_ the usual ... And I’ve got it, little girl—wads of it!" The grotesqueness of the dream seemed to make her stupid; she tried to find some sense and reason in what this man was saying to her, strove to comprehend him, his visit, his words. "Are you asking me to—marry you," she said, confused. "_Marry_ you!" he repeated, his expressive features suddenly blank, then jocular again. "Then—what——" And, suddenly staring into the sinister smirk, she comprehended, and turned ashy white. Even he could not mistake the genuineness of that white horror. "You—you d-don’t understand," he stammered, his effrontery shaken.... "I—perhaps I didn’t understand you, either.... But I thought—I supposed——" His top hat fell clattering on the floor; he stooped and picked it up, lifting a redder and more impudent countenance to confront her. "After all," he said with a sneer, "I had a right to think you knew what you were about—a girl, alone, who lives on her wits." He hesitated, malignant now, writhing internally under her pallid contempt. "By God!" he said, "you’re nothing better than any other hired woman! I helped hire you myself." And added, between his teeth: "You little clawing cat! I know damned well you’re an adventuress, but your game is beyond me——" He swung insolently on his heel, and found himself looking straight into the eyes of Jacob Rivett. "Go out!" said Mr. Rivett in a low voice. The colonel stared at him, confounded. "Go out!" repeated Rivett softly. The colonel, flushed and utterly discountenanced, started toward the door. Mr. Rivett followed him out into the hall, closing the door behind him.