“But as I said, it was an exception. Otherwise I found all over the same streets, the same railway stations, the same houses, the same stores, and the same people in the same dress. They asked me the same questions, using the same diction and the same expression, in the same mechanical voice, accompanied by the same sort of smile. Nothing individual or original. Do all Americans think the same, act the same?” “Not by any means. You barely scratched the surface. You did not see what was underneath.” “Perhaps not, but to me it seemed that everything, animate and inanimate, bore the same mark of standard uniformity imprinted on all with rubber stamps cast from the same die. Why, in every city I visited one could see on the sidewalks, floors of public buildings, even in churches, the same round marks of cast-away chewing gum. And in every city it stuck to my shoes in the same way.” She paused awhile, but Carl was too deep in thought for words, so Sana continued: “Yet, there is no other country on the face of the earth that could be made so interesting in every walk of life as your own, for, as you say, it is made up of people from all lands--they have given it the greatness it possesses. But what is so contradictory of the general state of life is the unique way in which all the people seem to seek notoriety--the underdressed women of the street and ballroom--the sensational divorces and murders--the demands of the blackmailers and the numerous clever ways in which unassuming persons are cheated out of their hard earned dollars by fraudulent schemers and consummate rogues. Seemingly, this condition appears to be a paradox, and so it would be if entirely separated from the general plan of life, but it is inextricably interwoven in the cosmic scheme--the whole. Because someone has been successful in a certain line, oblivious of its virtue or its evil, others will pursue the same path in quest of wealth equal to their brother. Yet considering all, I greatly admire your country. It holds a spell of fascination for me, although I cannot define it.” “It is indefinable,” replied Carl, gazing far in the distance. Carl, although one could not say he was unattentive to Sana in her discourse, was thinking of things other than the subject of her remarks. Turning to the girl, he asked, “Where did you learn the fascinating dance you performed last night?” “Oh that? Just a few steps which de Rochelle taught me while I was under hypnotic influence. A friend of mine, Count von Sarnoff, called it the ‘Vampire Dance,’ after he had seen it.” “Von Sarnoff? A Russian?” “Why, yes. A young Russian fellow--sporty to an extreme I discovered, and deadly in love with me.” “Hmm. How did you get along with him? The temperatures and temperaments of Russia and the Sahara are two very different things and hardly to be reconciled.” “That is just what made it so fascinating--for a time. Love speaks an international language, you know,” she smiled.