misery will await me then? And do you suppose I could bear it?" And I pressed her to me, saying: Dearest of all people to me, is there anyone on earth

who could ever tire of you? Promise me, by your Lord, never to repeat those words in my hearing again, for they wound me to the core.

No doubt she is remembering

all of that now. Why did she not burst out weeping, and revile me, and curse me, and call me the ugliest of names? Anything, by God, would be easier for me than this silence that all but strangles me. I felt a strong impulse urging me to rise and gather her into my arms and beg her pardon and her forgiveness. But this feeling — surely it comes of the spell

my mother had so often told me about; so let me hold out a little: this is the hardest stage of our case. Then the telephone bell rang, and I breathed freely again, as if it had released me from my captivity. I hurried to answer it; it was a trivial call, and I did not go back to her, but put on my coat and went out into the street, got into my car, and set to roaming