Now, if ever, she understood that she must keep their relations as superficial as she had always meant them to be--that she must cling with all her strength to the comfortable surface of appearances.

"But you haven't had many women friends, have you ?" "I've wanted to give other things," he went on hurriedly; "but not flowers.

I never thought of flowers until I met you." "That's nice for me." She was growing nervous, and in her nervousness she precipitated the explosion by venturing rashly: "But there's Alice, too, isn't there, to like them ?" Her voice was firm and friendly.

Once for all she intended him to understand how aloof she stood from any sentimental advances.
"Alice ?" For an instant his response hung fire, enveloped in a fog of perplexity.

Then, with an air of dispelling the cloud, he made a vigorous gesture of denial, and moved nearer to her with the swiftness and directness of a natural force.