This for your sake, Phil--because you ask me.

And because you must always stand for all that is upright and good and manly in my eyes.

Ah, Phil! what a fool I was! And all, all my own fault, too.
"Alixe." This ended the sudden eruption of correspondence; for he did not reply to this letter, though in it he read enough to make him gravely uneasy; and he fell, once more, into the habit of brooding, from which both Boots Lansing and Eileen had almost weaned him.
Also he began to take long solitary walks in the Park when not occupied in conferences with the representatives of the Lawn Nitro-Powder Works--a company which had recently approached him in behalf of his unperfected explosive, Chaosite.
This hermit life might have continued in town indefinitely had he not, one morning, been surprised by a note from Eileen--the first he had ever had from her.
It was only a very brief missive--piquant, amusing, innocently audacious in closing--a mere reminder that he had promised to write to her; and she ended it by asking him very plainly whether he had not missed her, in terms so frank, so sweet, so confident of his inevitable answer, that all the enchantment of their delightful intimacy surged back in one quick tremor of happiness, washing from his heart and soul the clinging, sordid, evil things which were creeping closer, closer to torment and overwhelm him.
And all that day he went about his business quite happily, her letter in his pocket; and that night, taking a new pen and pen holder, he laid out his very best letter-paper, and began the first letter he had ever written to Eileen Erroll.
"DEAR EILEEN: I have your charming little note from Silverside reminding me that I had promised to write you.

But I needed no reminder; you know that.

Then why have I not written?
I couldn't, off-hand.