Page:Dale - A Marriage Below Zero.djvu/106

100 armchair, yawning. She tried to yawn gracefully, I am sure, but it was quite impossible.

"Go to bed, Marie," I said, peremptorily, at one o'clock.

"I will wait with Madame," was the reply.

And again we sat down to the contemplation of each other's charms. How lonely it was! We made a round of the house and saw that everything had been properly secured for the night, simply because I felt so nervous that I could not sit there inactive. I will not attempt to describe all the weird noises we heard, because everybody who has sat up in the early hours of the morning knows exactly what they are. At three o'clock I started violently. I think I must have been asleep. The striking of the clock in the hall aroused me.

"Marie," I said a few minutes later, "I am going to bed. My husband will not be back to-night, that is very sure. I will wait no longer. Good-night."

To my surprise Marie kissed me. I remember hoping that she did not intend to do so every night. I hated affectionate people as I have