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84 promiscuously." She paused, and the gaze she now fixed upon the girl was charged with unpleasant significance. "I allow no promiscuous intercourse under my roof," she went on, emphasizing the words with her brown-gloved hand. "Frankheim is not Paris," she asserted, with German hatred and contempt. "My regulations, with regard to the young ladies entrusted to my care, you will find, no doubt, very different from those of Madame Costanza's. Neither out of doors or within, will young females boarding with me have opportunities for light intercourse. I make no inquiries into your past, fräulein," she concluded with increasing venom, "but you must understand that this kind of thing cannot occur at Frankheim!"—the bony finger indicated the flowers.

For all reply Sarolta sprang to her feet, let down the window, and flung the lovely bunch of fragrance and colour into the night. She had never wanted Johnny, nor his love-tokens; yet, as she cast this last one from her, it seemed as if she had been made to sacrifice something that was both good and strengthening to possess.

She sat down again, panting a little, feeling the cold of the air rush across her burning cheeks with a sense of relief.

"May I beg that you will shut the window again," said her companion, sarcastically polite.