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Rh “Yes.”

“I suppose my career is about over, but I don’t want them to know about it.”

“Excuse me. What’s that—about your career being over?”

“That’s why you’ve come, isn’t it? You didn’t like the last story?”

He stared at her, and then burst out laughing.

“You thought I would come way out here from New York to tell you I didn’t like it?”

“I have a high opinion of your kindness,” she nodded.

“You nice little girl!” he added impetuously. “I came partly because I wanted to talk to you again, partly because I wanted to see Jarvis and the Professor.”

She smiled and nodded encouragement.

“Then, too, we’ve had such a raft of letters about the ‘Francesca’ story that I want to talk to you about making a novel of it, to run serially, instead of the short stories we arranged for.”

“A novel? You want me to write a novel?”

“We do.”

“But I wonder if I could?” she said, in an awed voice.