"And bowl triumphantly along the road in a C-spring carriage, or the very latest divinity in motor-cars!" laughed the beauty who sat in the corner of the oak settle, agreeably conscious that the background was all that could be desired as a foil to her red-gold hair, and that the dim light shed a kindly illusion over a well-worn frock. "I object to ruts of every kind and persuasion. They disagree with me, and make me cross, and I'm so nice when I'm pleased! The parsons say that prosperity makes people hard and selfish, but it is just the other way about with me. When there's not enough to go round--well, naturally, I keep it all for myself; but so long as I have everything I want, I _like_ other people to be happy. I really do! I'd give them everything that was over." She looked around with a challenging smile, and the others obediently laughed and applauded. It was fashionable to have a new role, and it was Claudia's role to be honest, and quite blatantly selfish. She was pretty enough to carry it off, and clever enough to realise that her plain speaking served as a blind. No one believed for a moment that she was speaking the truth, whereas, if she had not distracted attention by waving this red flag, they must certainly have discovered the truth for themselves. Claudia's god was self; she would have seen her best friend cut up into mincemeat, to provide herself with a needed _hors d'oeuvre_. The tall man with the large head and the sharp, hawklike features, sprang to his feet, and stood in the centre of the circle, aflush with excitement. "Ruts!" he repeated loudly. "What's the matter with us all is we're _content_ with ruts! The thing which depresses me most at the beginning of a year is to look back and realise the futility, the weakness, the lack of progress. Great heavens! how much longer are we to be content with ruts? Our youth is passing; in a short time it will have gone. What have we done with our years? If we had been worthy the name, we should have been done with ruts by now, they would have been paved over with a smooth white path--the path to fortune! We should have walked along it--our own road, a private road, forbidden to trespassers!"