Page:Man's Country (1923).pdf/293

 "I'll try going alone sometime—and then see how you like it!"

This was flung tauntingly from the door as an exasperated and bewildered husband stood staring after the departure of an exasperated and indignant wife.

As for Fay, she said not another word about an excursion to the cradle of civilization, but she had other words to say about other projects as wild, as mad, and to as distant points of the compass for other excuses just as invalid. A mania for far journeyings had taken hold of her.

"Jee-rusalem, where does she hear of 'em all—these countries, I mean?" George would rant. "Gosh! I'm going to burn all the geographies and encyclopedias before she digs up any new places to go. What is it? What is it?"

He tried to make light of that whole phase of Fay's life with him, and did. He laughed away her proposals; he kissed away her tears—he permitted no base suspicions to enter his mind. He was glad of Sir Brian around occasionally to take her places and entertain her and keep her mind from brooding on his inability to be always her escort.

It was not until he realized that Fay's love moods had become so rare that they had almost disappeared; that there were no more of those attacks of quivering remorse; that there was only