As for John Biggs, no words could describe his admiration of this wonderful new specimen of womanhood. Never in all his life had he beheld anyone so fair, so exquisite, so ethereal. Her hair was like threads of gold. The exquisite fineness and beauty of her complexion was like that of a child. It seemed a miracle in the eyes of the big, rough man that a grown-up woman should preserve such delicacy of charm. Yet as they exchanged the first commonplaces of conversation there was something in the expression of those sunken eyes which was not wholly approving. They seemed to Claudia like small steel gimlets, piercing into her soul! As he bade her good-bye that evening, John Biggs announced coolly: "I shall see you again on Thursday, as arranged!" and when Claudia exclaimed, he waved aside her protests with a sarcastic laugh. "You have been at pains to tell me exactly what you are to be doing every day of this week! Didn't you _intend_ me to meet you?" Claudia shrugged her shoulders, and took refuge in her usual honesty. "Well--I _did_! But you might have pretended that I didn't. It's rather unkind to show that you see through my poor little machinations with such ease." "I never pretend," said John Biggs. His eyes rested on the string of imitation pearls encircling the slender neck, and he spoke again, roughly, insolently: "Why do you deck yourself with sham beads?" "Because I have nothing better, of course. What a stupid question to ask!" "You ought to wear emeralds," he said. "They are the stones for you, with your complexion and eyes. You ought to wear emeralds. Ropes of emeralds." "I intend to!" answered Claudia calmly. Their eyes met, and they stared at one another; a cold and challenging stare. During the next fortnight Society watched with interest the progress of the affair between "Beauty and the Beast," and speculation was rife as to its outcome. Would he propose; and, if so, would she--_could_ she accept? It seemed impossible to her friends that even Claudia, the mercenary, could sell herself to this ogre-like man. But Claudia herself had no hesitation. On the fifteenth day after their introduction, the couple sat together under a tree at one of the outdoor functions of the year, and John Biggs asked a sudden question: "What did you think of me," he asked, "when you first saw me that evening at the Rollos'?" Claudia smiled at him with the sweetness of an angel. "I thought," she said, "you were the ugliest man I had ever seen!" "And yet," he said sneering, "you made eyes at me across the room. You willed me to come and be introduced!" "Yes, I did. But that," said Claudia serenely, "was because you were rich." The gimlet-like eyes stared long and straight at the lovely face, beneath the rose-crowned hat. "I think," John Biggs said deliberately, "you are the most soulless human creature on earth! That lovely body of yours is a shell--a beautiful shell with nothing inside. You have no soul!"