Page:Firecrackers a realistic novel.pdf/247

 Had there been anything to gain in the end beyond a certain sop to his vanity, Paul perhaps might have continued the pursuit of conquest for six months or even a year. As it was, he felt bored and it required some strength of mind on his part to continue the hunt for even a week longer. At last, he determined, with grim irony, to set a time limit to his sport. If, he decided, I can get no further in ten days, I shall send her back to her studios as chaste as she was when I met her.

The last day of this period fell on the fifteenth of May, and the fifteenth of May was at hand. For this final siege Paul had arranged a luncheon at an unfrequented roadhouse off the main thoroughfare, but in the general direction of Yonkers. On any occasion it was impossible to persuade this nymph of Diana to eat in a private room, but in this particular roadhouse it was fairly certain that the main dining-room would be unoccupied at midday.

He called for Wintergreen at a little after twelve and kicked his heels restlessly in Lottie's sitting-room. It is the custom of Chinese mandarins to keep distinguished visitors waiting for an hour to show them that they are doing them the honour of preparing for the call. Wintergreen was not consciously acquainted with this code of behaviour, but her temperament precluded the possibility of her ever meeting any engagement at the time appointed. When, at last, she joined him, Paul felt that he had never before seen her appear quite so beautiful.