XVIII + 

Enigma + 

He found no reason to believe she had left him other than voluntarily, or that their adventures since the escape from the impasse Stanislas had been attended upon by spies of the Pack. He could have sworn they hadnтАЩt been followed either to or from the rue des Acacias; their way had been too long and purposely too roundabout, his vigilance too lively, for any sort of surveillance to have been practised without his remarking some indication thereof, at one time or another. + 

On the other hand (he told himself) there was every reason to believe she hadnтАЩt left him to go back to Bannon; concerning whom she had expressed herself too forcibly to excuse a surmise that she had preferred his protection to the Lone WolfтАЩs. + 

Reasoning thus, he admitted, one couldnтАЩt blame her. He could readily see how, illuded at first by a certain romantic glamour, she had not, until left to herself in the garden, come to clear perception of the fact that she was casting her lot with a common criminalтАЩs. Then, horror overmastering her of a sudden she had fledтБатАФwildly, blindly, he didnтАЩt doubt. But whither? He looked in vain for her at their agreed rendezvous, the Sacr├й C┼Уur. She had neither money nor friends in Paris. + 

True: she had mentioned some personal jewellery she planned to hypothecate. Her first move, then, would be to seek the mont-de-pi├йt├йтБатАФnot to force himself again upon her, but to follow at a distance and ward off interference on BannonтАЩs part. + 

The Government pawnshop had its invitation for Lanyard himself: he was there before the doors were open for the day; and fortified by loans negotiated on his watch, cigarette-case, and a ring or two, retired to a caf├й commanding a view of the entrance on the rue des Blancs-Manteaux, and settled himself against a daylong vigil. + 

It wasnтАЩt easy; drowsiness buzzed in his brain and weighted his eyelids; now and again, involuntarily, he nodded over his glass of black coffee. And when evening came and the mont-de-pi├йt├й closed for the night, he rose and stumbled off, wondering if possibly he had napped a little without his knowledge and so missed her visit. + 

Engaging obscure lodgings close by the rue des Acacias, he slept till nearly noon of the following day, then rose to put into execution a design which had sprung full-winged from his brain at the instant of wakening. + 

He had not only his car but a chauffeurтАЩs license of long standing in the name of Pierre LamierтБатАФwas free, in short, to range at will the streets of Paris. And when he had levied on the stock of a secondhand clothing shop and a chemistтАЩs, he felt tolerably satisfied it would need sharp eyesтБатАФwhether the PackтАЩs or the Pr├йfectureтАЩsтБатАФto identify тАЬPierre LamierтАЭ with either Michael Lanyard or the Lone Wolf. + 

His face, ears and neck he stained a weather-beaten brown, a discreet application of rouge along his cheekbones enhancing the effect of daily exposure to the winter winds and rains of Paris; and he gave his hands an even darker shade, with the added verisimilitude of fingernails inked into permanent mourning. Also, he refrained from shaving: a stubble of two daysтАЩ neglect bristled upon his chin and jowls. A rusty brown ulster with cap to match, shoddy trousers boasting conspicuous stripes of leaden colour, and patched boots completed the disguise. + 

Monsieur and madame of the conciergerie he deceived with a yarn of selling his all to purchase the motorcar and embark in business for himself; and with their blessing, sallied forth to scout Paris diligently for sight or sign of the woman to whom his every heartbeat was dedicated. + 

By the close of the third day he was ready to concede that she had managed to escape without his aid. + 

And he began to suspect that Bannon had fled the town as well; for the most diligent enquiries failed to educe the least clue to the movements of the American following the fire at TroyonтАЩs. + 

As for TroyonтАЩs, it was now nothing more than a gaping excavation choked with ashes and charred timbers; and though still rumours of police interest in the origin of the fire persisted, nothing in the papers linked the name of Michael Lanyard with their activities. His disappearance and Lucy ShannonтАЩs seemed to be accepted as due to death in the holocaust; the fact that their bodies hadnтАЩt been recovered was no longer a matter for comment. + 

In short, Paris had already lost interest in the affair. + 

Even so, it seemed, had the Pack lost interest in the Lone Wolf; or else his disguise was impenetrable. Twice he saw De┬аMorbihan тАЬfl├вnningтАЭ elegantly on the Boulevards, and once he passed close by Popinot; but neither noticed him. + 

Toward midnight of the third day, Lanyard, driving slowly westward on the boulevard de la Madeleine, noticed a limousine of familiar aspect round a corner half a block ahead and, drawing up in front of VielтАЩs, discharge four passengers. + 

The first was Wertheimer; and at sight of his rather striking figure, decked out in evening apparel from Conduit street and Bond, Lanyard slackened speed. + 

Turning as he alighted, the Englishman offered his hand to a young woman. She jumped down to the sidewalk in radiant attire and a laughing temper. + 

Involuntarily Lanyard stopped his car; and one immediately to the rear, swerving out to escape collision, shot past, its driver cursing him freely; while a sergent de ville scowled darkly and uttered an imperative word. + 

He pulled himself together, somehow, and drove on. + 

The girl was entering the restaurant by way of the revolving door, Wertheimer in attendance; while De┬аMorbihan, having alighted, was lending a solicitous arm to Bannon. + 

Quite automatically the adventurer drove on, rounded the Madeleine, and turned up the boulevard Malesherbes. Paris and all its brisk midnight traffic swung by without claiming a tithe of his interest: he was mainly conscious of lights that reeled dizzily round him like a multitude of malicious, mocking eyes.тБатАКтБатАж + 

At the junction with the boulevard Haussmann a second sergent de ville roused him with a warning about careless driving. He went more sanely thereafter, but bore a heart of utter misery; his eyes still wore a dazed expression, and now and again he shook his head impatiently as though to rid it of a swarm of tormenting thoughts. + 

So, it seemed, he had all along been her dupe; all the while that he had been ostentatiously shielding her from harm and diffidently discovering every evidence of devotion, she had been laughing in her sleeve and planning to return to the service she pretended to despise, with her report of a fool self-duped. + 

A great anger welled in his bosom. + 

Turning round, he made back to the boulevard de la Madeleine, and on one pretext and another contrived to haunt the neighbourhood of VielтАЩs until the party reappeared, something after one oтАЩclock. + 

It was plain that they had supped merrily; the girl seemed in the gayest humour, Wertheimer a bit exhilarated, De┬аMorbihan much amused; even BannonтБатАФbearing heavily on the FrenchmanтАЩs armтБатАФwas chuckling contentedly. The party piled back into De┬аMorbihanтАЩs limousine and was driven up the avenue des Champs ├Йlys├йes, pausing at the ├Йlys├йe Palace Hotel to drop Bannon and the girlтБатАФhis daughter?тБатАФwhoever she was! + 

Whither it went thereafter, Lanyard didnтАЩt trouble to ascertain. He drove morosely home and went to bed, though not to sleep for many hours: bitterness of disillusion ate like an acid in his heart. + 

But for all his anguish, he continued in an uncertain temper. He had turned his back on the craft of which he was acknowledged masterтБатАФfor a womanтАЩs sake; for nothing else (he argued) had he dedicated himself to poverty and honest effort; and what little privation he had already endured was hopelessly distasteful to him. The art of the Lone Wolf, his consummate cunning and subtlety, was still at his command; with only himself to think of, he was profoundly contemptuous of the antagonism of the Pack; while none knew better than he with what ease the riches of careless Paris might be diverted to his own pockets. A single step aside from the path he had chosenтБатАФand tomorrow night he might dine at the Ritz instead of in some sordid cochersтАЩ cabaret! + 

And since no one caredтБатАФsince she had betrayed his faithтБатАФwhat mattered? + 

Why notтБатАКтБатАжтАК? + 

Yet he could not come to a decision; the next day saw him obstinately, even a little stupidly, pursuing the course he had planned before his disheartening disillusionment. + 

Because his money was fast ebbing and motives of prudence aloneтБатАФif none more worthyтБатАФforbade an attempt to replenish his pocketbook by revisiting the little rez-de-chauss├йe in the rue Roget and realizing on its treasures, he had determined to have a taximeter fitted to his car and ply for hire until time or chance should settle the question of his future. + 

Already, indeed, he had complied with the police regulations, and received permission to convert his voiture de remise into a taxicab; and leaving it before noon at the designated depot, he was told it would be ready for him at four with the тАЬclockтАЭ installed. Returning at that hour, he learned that it couldnтАЩt be ready before six; and too bored and restless to while away two idle hours in a caf├й, he wandered listlessly through the streets and boulevardsтБатАФindifferent, in the black melancholy oppressing him, whether or not he were recognizedтБатАФand eventually found himself turning from the rue St.┬аHonor├й through the place Vend├┤me to the rue de la Paix. + 

This was not wise, a perilous business, a course he had no right to pursue. And Lanyard knew it. None the less, he persisted. + 

It was past five oтАЩclockтБатАФdeep twilight beneath a cloudless skyтБатАФthe life of that street of streets fluent at its swiftest. All that Paris knew of wealth and beauty, fashion and high estate, moved between the curbs. One needed the temper of a Stoic to maintain indifference to the allure of its pageant. + 

Trudging steadily, he of the rusty brown ulster all but touched shoulders with men who were all that he had been but a few days sinceтБатАФhale, hearty, well-fed, well-dressed symbols of prosperityтБатАФand with exquisite women, exquisitely gowned, extravagantly be-furred and bejewelled, of glowing faces and eyes dark with mystery and promise: spirited creatures whose laughter was soft music, whose gesture was pride and arrogance. + 

One and all looked past, over, and through him, unaffectedly unaware that he existed. + 

The roadway, its paving worn as smooth as glass, and tonight by grace of frost no less hard, rang with a clatter of hoofs high and clear above the resonance of motors. A myriad lights filled the wide channel with diffused radiance. Two endless ranks of shopwindows, facing one anotherтБатАФacross the tide, flaunted treasures that kings might pardonably have covetedтБатАФand would. + 

Before one corner window, Lanyard paused instinctively. + 

The shop was that of a famous jeweller. Separated from him by only the thickness of plate-glass was the wealth of princes. Looking beyond that display, his attention focused on the interior of an immense safe, to which a dapper French salesman was restoring velvet-lined trays of valuables. Lanyard studied the intricate, ponderous mechanism of the safe-door with a thoughtful gaze not altogether innocent of sardonic bias. It wore all the grim appearance of a strongbox that, once locked, would prove impregnable to everything save acquaintance with the combination and the consent of the time-lock. But give the Lone Wolf twenty minutes alone with it, twenty minutes free from interruptionтБатАФhe, the one man living who could seduce a time-lock and leave it apparently inviolate!тБатАКтБатАж + 

To one side of that window stood a mirror, set at an angle, and suddenly Lanyard caught its presentment of himselfтБатАФa gaunt and hungry apparition, with a wolfish air he had never worn when rejoicing in his sobriquet, staring with eyes of predaceous lustre. + 

Alarmed and fearing lest some passerby be struck by this betrayal, he turned and moved on hastily. + 

But his mind was poisoned by this brutal revelation of the wide, deep gulf that yawned between the Lone Wolf of yesterday and Pierre Lamier of today; between Michael Lanyard the debonnaire, the amateur of fine arts and fine clothing, the beau sabreur of gentlemen-cracksmen and that lean, worn, shabby and dispirited animal who had glared back at him from the jewellerтАЩs mirror. + 

He quickened his pace, with something of that same instinct of self-preservation that bids the dipsomaniac avert his eyes and hurry past the corner gin-mill, and turned blindly off into the rue Danou, toward the avenue de lтАЩOp├йra. + 

But this only made it worse for him, for he could not avoid recognition of the softly glowing windows of the Caf├й de Paris that knew him so well, or forget the memory of its shining rich linen, its silver and crystal, its perfumed atmosphere and luxury of warmth and music and shaded lights, its cuisine that even Paris cannot duplicate. + 

And the truth came home to him, that he was hungry not with that brute appetite he had money enough in his pocket to satisfy, but with the lust of fleshpots, for rare viands and old vintage wines, to know once more the snug embrace of a dress-coat and to breathe again the atmosphere of ease and station. + 

In sudden panic he darted across the avenue and hurried north, determined to tantalize himself no longer with sights and sounds so provocative and so disturbing. + 

Halfway across the boulevard des Capucines, to the east of the Op├йra, he leapt for his life from a man-killing taxi, found himself temporarily marooned upon one of those isles of safety which Paris has christened тАЬthank-Gods,тАЭ and stood waiting for an opening in the congestion of traffic to permit passage to the farther sidewalk. + 

And presently the policeman in the middle of the boulevard signalled with his little white wand; the stream of eastbound vehicles checked and began to close up to the right of the crossing, upon which they encroached jealously; and a taxi on the outside, next the island, overshot the mark, pulled up sharply, and began to back into place. Before Lanyard could stir, its window was opposite him, and he was looking in, transfixed. + 

There was sufficient light to enable him to see clearly the face of the passengerтБатАФits pale oval and the darkness of eyes whose gaze clung to his with an effect of confused fascination.тБатАКтБатАж + 

She sat quite motionless until one white-gloved hand moved uncertainly toward her bosom. + 

That brought him to; unconsciously lifting his cap, he stepped back a pace and started to move on. + 

At this, she bent quickly forward and unlatched the door. It swung wide to him. + 

Hardly knowing what he was doing, he accepted the dumb invitation, stepped in, took the empty seat, and closed the door. + 

Almost at once the car moved on with a jerk, the girl sinking back into her corner with a suggestion of breathlessness, as though her effort to seem composed had been almost too much for her strength. + 

Her face, turned toward Lanyard, seemed wan in the half light, but immobile, expressionless; only her eyes were darkly quick with anticipation. + 

On his part, Lanyard felt himself hopelessly confounded, in the grasp of emotions that would scarce suffer him to speak. A great wonder obsessed him that she should have opened that door to him no less than that he should have entered through it. Dimly he understood that each had acted without premeditation; and asked himself, was she already regretting that momentary weakness. + 

тАЬWhy did you do that?тАЭ he heard himself demand abruptly, his voice harsh, strained, and unnatural. + 

She stiffened slightly, with a nervous movement of her shoulders. + 

тАЬBecause I saw youтБатАКтБатАж I was surprised; I had hopedтБатАФbelievedтБатАФyou had left Paris.тАЭ + 

тАЬWithout you? Hardly!тАЭ + 

тАЬBut you must,тАЭ she insistedтБатАФтАЬyou must go, as quickly as possible. It isnтАЩt safeтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩm all right,тАЭ he insistedтБатАФтАЬable-bodiedтБатАФin full possession of my senses!тАЭ + 

тАЬBut any moment you may be recognizedтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬIn this rig? It isnтАЩt likely.тБатАКтБатАж Not that I care.тАЭ + 

She surveyed his costume curiously, perplexed. + 

тАЬWhy are you dressed that way? Is it a disguise?тАЭ + 

тАЬA pretty good one. But in point of fact, itтАЩs the national livery of my present station in life.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhat do you mean by that?тАЭ + 

тАЬSimply that, out of my old job, IтАЩve turned to the first resort of the incompetent: IтАЩm driving a taxi.тАЭ + 

тАЬIsnтАЩt it awfullyтБатАФrisky?тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩd think so; but it isnтАЩt. Few people ever bother to look at a chauffeur. When they hail a taxi theyтАЩre in a hurry, as a ruleтБатАФpreoccupied with business or pleasure. And then our uniforms are a disguise in themselves: to the public eye we look like so many Chinamen!тАЭ + 

тАЬBut youтАЩre mistaken: I knew you instantly, didnтАЩt I? And those othersтБатАФtheyтАЩre as keen-witted as IтБатАФcertainly. Oh, you should not have stopped on in Paris!тАЭ + 

тАЬI couldnтАЩt go without knowing what had become of you.тАЭ + 

тАЬI was afraid of that,тАЭ she confessed. + 

тАЬThen whyтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, I know what youтАЩre going to say! Why did I run away from you?тАЭ And then, since he said nothing, she continued unhappily: тАЬI canтАЩt tell youтБатАКтБатАж I mean, I donтАЩt know how to tell you!тАЭ + 

She kept her face averted, sat gazing blankly out of the window; but when he sat on, mute and unresponsiveтБатАФin point of fact not knowing what to sayтБатАФshe turned to look at him, and the glare of a passing lamp showed her countenance profoundly distressed, mouth tense, brows knotted, eyes clouded with perplexity and appeal. + 

And of a sudden, seeing her so tormented and so piteous, his indignation ebbed, and with it all his doubts of her were dissipated; dimly he divined that something behind this dark fabric of mystery and inconsistency, no matter how inexplicable to him, excused all her apparent faithlessness and instability of character and purpose. He could not look upon this girl and hear her voice and believe that she was not at heart as sound and sweet, tender and loyal, as any that ever breathed. + 

A wave of tenderness and compassion brimmed his heart; he realized that he didnтАЩt matter, that his amour propre was of no accountтБатАФthat nothing mattered so long as she were spared one little pang of self-reproach. + 

He said, gently: тАЬI wouldnтАЩt have you distress yourself on my account, Miss ShannonтБатАКтБатАж I quite understand there must be things I canтАЩt understandтБатАФthat you must have had your reasons for acting as you did.тАЭ + 

тАЬYes,тАЭ she said unevenly, but again with eyes avertedтБатАФтАЬI had; but theyтАЩre not easy, theyтАЩre impossible to explainтБатАФto you.тАЭ + 

тАЬYetтБатАФwhen allтАЩs said and doneтБатАФIтАЩve no right to exact any explanation.тАЭ + 

тАЬAh, but how can you say that, remembering what weтАЩve been through together?тАЭ + 

тАЬYou owe me nothing,тАЭ he insisted; тАЬwhereas I owe you everything, even unquestioning faith. Even though I fail, I have this to thank you forтБатАФthis one not-ignoble impulse my life has known.тАЭ + 

тАЬYou mustnтАЩt say that, you mustnтАЩt think it. I donтАЩt deserve it. You wouldnтАЩt say itтБатАФif you knewтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬPerhaps I can guess enough to satisfy myself.тАЭ + 

She gave him a swift, sidelong look of challenge, instinctively on the defensive. + 

тАЬWhy,тАЭ she almost gaspedтБатАФтАЬwhat do you thinkтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

тАЬDoes it matter what I think?тАЭ + 

тАЬIt does, to me: I wish to know!тАЭ + 

тАЬWell,тАЭ he conceded reluctantly, тАЬI think that, when you had a chance to consider things calmly, waiting back there in the garden, you made up your mind it would be better toтБатАФto use your best judgment andтБатАФextricate yourself from an embarrassing positionтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬYou think that!тАЭ she interrupted bitterly. тАЬYou think that, after you had confided in me; after youтАЩd confessedтБатАФwhen I made you, led you on to itтБатАФthat you cared for me; after youтАЩd told me how much my faith meant to youтБатАФyou think that, after all that, I deliberately abandoned you because I suddenly realized you had been the Lone WolfтБатАФ!тАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩm sorry if I hurt you. But what can I think?тАЭ + 

тАЬBut you are wrong!тАЭ she protested vehementlyтБатАФтАЬquite, quite wrong! I ran away from myselfтБатАФnot from youтБатАФand with another motive, too, that I canтАЩt explain.тАЭ + 

тАЬYou ran away from yourselfтБатАФnot from me?тАЭ he repeated, puzzled. + 

тАЬDonтАЩt you understand? Why make it so hard for me? Why make me say outright what pains me so?тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, I beg of youтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬBut if you wonтАЩt understand otherwiseтБатАФI must tell you, I suppose.тАЭ She checked, breathless, flushed, trembling. тАЬYou recall our talk after dinner, that nightтБатАФhow I asked what if you found out youтАЩd been mistaken in me, that I had deceived you; and how I told you it would be impossible for me ever to marry you?тАЭ + 

тАЬI remember.тАЭ + 

тАЬIt was because of that,тАЭ she saidтБатАФтАЬI ran away; because I hadnтАЩt been talking idly; because you were mistaken in me, because I was deceiving you, because I could never marry you, and becauseтБатАФsuddenlyтБатАФI came to know that, if I didnтАЩt go then and there, I might never find the strength to leave you, and only suffering and unhappiness could come of it all. I had to go, as much for your sake as for my own.тАЭ + 

тАЬYou mean me to understand, you found you were beginning toтБатАФto care a little for me?тАЭ + 

She made an effort to speak, but in the end answered only with a dumb inclination of her head. + 

тАЬAnd ran away because love wasnтАЩt possible between us?тАЭ + 

Again she nodded silently. + 

тАЬBecause I had been a criminal, I presume!тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩve no right to say thatтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬWhat else can I think? You tell me you were afraid I might persuade you to become my wifeтБатАФsomething which, for some inexplicable reason, you claim is impossible. What other explanation can I infer? What other explanation is needed? ItтАЩs ample, it covers everything, and IтАЩve no warrant to complainтБатАФGod knows!тАЭ + 

She tried to protest, but he cut her short. + 

тАЬThereтАЩs one thing I donтАЩt understand at all! If that is so, if your repugnance for criminal associations made you run away from meтБатАФwhy did you go back to Bannon?тАЭ + 

She started and gave him a furtive, frightened glance. + 

тАЬYou knew that?тАЭ + 

тАЬI saw youтБатАФlast nightтБатАФfollowed you from VielтАЩs to your hotel.тАЭ + 

тАЬAnd you thought,тАЭ she flashed in a vibrant voiceтБатАФтАЬyou thought I was in his company of my own choice!тАЭ + 

тАЬYou didnтАЩt seem altogether downcast,тАЭ he countered. тАЬDo you wish me to understand you were with him against your will?тАЭ + 

тАЬNo,тАЭ she said slowly.тБатАКтБатАж тАЬNo: I returned to him voluntarily, knowing perfectly what I was about.тАЭ + 

тАЬThrough fear of himтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

тАЬNo. I canтАЩt claim that.тАЭ + 

тАЬRather than meтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩll never understand,тАЭ she told him a little wearilyтБатАФтАЬnever. It was a matter of duty. I had to go backтБатАФI had to!тАЭ + 

Her voice trailed off into a broken little sob. But as, moved beyond his strength to resist, Lanyard put forth a hand to take the white-gloved one resting on the cushion beside her, she withdrew it with a swift gesture of denial. + 

тАЬNo!тАЭ she cried. тАЬPlease! You mustnтАЩt do thatтБатАКтБатАж You only make it harderтБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬBut you love me!тАЭ + 

тАЬI canтАЩt. ItтАЩs impossible. I wouldтБатАФbut I may not!тАЭ + 

тАЬWhy?тАЭ + 

тАЬI canтАЩt tell you.тАЭ + 

тАЬIf you love me, you must tell me.тАЭ + 

She was silent, the white hands working nervously with her handkerchief. + 

тАЬLucy!тАЭ he insistedтБатАФтАЬyou must say what stands between you and my love. ItтАЩs true, IтАЩve no right to ask, as I had no right to speak to you of love. But when weтАЩve said as much as we have saidтБатАФwe canтАЩt stop there. You will tell me, dear?тАЭ + 

She shook her head: тАЬItтБатАФitтАЩs impossible.тАЭ + 

тАЬBut you canтАЩt ask me to be content with that answer!тАЭ + 

тАЬOh!тАЭ she criedтБатАФтАЬhow can I make you understand?тБатАКтБатАж When you said what you did, that nightтБатАФit seemed as if a new day were dawning in my life. You made me believe it was because of me. You put me above youтБатАФwhere IтАЩd no right to be; but the fact that you thought me worthy to be there, made me proud and happy: and for a little, in my blindness, I believed I could be worthy of your love and your respect. I thought that, if I could be as strong as you during that year you asked in which to prove your strength, I might listen to you, tell you everything, and be forgiven.тБатАКтБатАж But I was wrong, how wrong I soon learned.тБатАКтБатАж So I had to leave you at whatever cost!тАЭ + 

She ceased to speak, and for several minutes there was silence. But for her quick, convulsive breathing, the girl sat like a woman of stone, staring dry-eyed out of the window. And Lanyard sat as moveless, the heart in his bosom as heavy and cold as a stone. + 

At length, lifting his head, тАЬYou leave me no alternative,тАЭ he said in a voice dull and hollow even in his own hearing: тАЬI can only think one thingтБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬThink what you must,тАЭ she said lifelessly: тАЬit doesnтАЩt matter, so long as you renounce me, put me out of your heart andтБатАФleave me.тАЭ + 

Without other response, he leaned forward and tapped the glass; and as the cab swung in toward the curb, he laid hold of the door-latch. + 

тАЬLucy,тАЭ he pleaded, тАЬdonтАЩt let me go believingтБатАФтАЭ + 

She seemed suddenly infused with implacable hostility. тАЬI tell you,тАЭ she said cruellyтБатАФтАЬI donтАЩt care what you think, so long as you go!тАЭ + 

The face she now showed him was ashen; its mouth was hard; her eyes shone feverishly. + 

And then, as still he hesitated, the cab pulled up and the driver, leaning back, unlatched the door and threw it open. + 

With a curt, resigned nod, Lanyard rose and got out. + 

Immediately the girl bent forward and grasped the speaking-tube; the door slammed; the cab drew away and left him standing with the pose, with the gesture of one who has just heard his sentence of death pronounced. + 

When he roused to know his surroundings, he found himself standing on a corner of the avenue du Bois. + 

It was bitter cold in the wind sweeping down from the west, and it had grown very dark. Only in the sky above the Bois a long reef of crimson light hung motionless, against which leafless trees lifted gnarled, weird silhouettes. + 

While he watched, the pushing crimson ebbed swiftly and gave way to mauve, to violet, to black. + 