as men mean love.”

“So that you love no other man, I should still want you.”

“Am I then so vital to you?”

“Utterly.”

“To how many other women have you spoken thus?” she asked gravely.

“To none.”

“Truly?”

“Truly, Lois.”

She said in a low voice:

“Other men have said it to me� . I have heard them swear it with tears in their eyes and calling God to witness. And I knew all the while that they were lying — perjuring their souls for the sake of a ragged, unripe jade, and a wild night’s