Chance

"And you have got what you wanted? Is that it?"

The daughter of the egregious financier de Barral did not answer at once

this question going to the heart of things. Then raising her head and

gazing wistfully across the street noisy with the endless transit of

innumerable bargains, she said with intense gravity: "He has been most generous."

I was pleased to hear these words. Not that I doubted the infatuation of

Roderick Anthony, but I was pleased to hear something which proved that

she was sensible and open to the sentiment of gratitude which in this

case was significant. In the face of man's desire a girl is excusable if

she thinks herself priceless. I mean a girl of our civilization which

has established a dithyrambic phraseology for the expression of love. A

man in love will accept any convention exalting the object of his passion

and in this indirect way his passion itself. In what way the captain of

the ship Ferndale gave proofs of lover-like lavishness I could not

guess very well. But I was glad she was appreciative. It is lucky that

small things please women. And it is not silly of them to be thus

pleased. It is in small things that the deepest loyalty, that which they

need most, the loyalty of the passing moment, is best expressed.

She had remained thoughtful, letting her deep motionless eyes rest on the

streaming jumble of traffic. Suddenly she said:

"And I wanted to ask you . . . I was really glad when I saw you actually

here. Who would have expected you here, at this spot, before this hotel!

I certainly never . . . You see it meant a lot to me. You are the only

person who knows . . . who knows for certain . . . "

"Knows what?" I said, not discovering at first what she had in her mind.

Then I saw it. "Why can't you leave that alone?" I remonstrated, rather

annoyed at the invidious position she was forcing on me in a sense. "It's

true that I was the only person to see," I added. "But, as it happens,

after your mysterious disappearance I told the Fynes the story of our

meeting."

Her eyes raised to mine had an expression of dreamy, unfathomable

candour, if I dare say so. And if you wonder what I mean I can only say

that I have seen the sea wear such an expression on one or two occasions

shortly before sunrise on a calm, fresh day. She said as if meditating

aloud that she supposed the Fynes were not likely to talk about that. She

couldn't imagine any connection in which . . . Why should they?