Page:The Golden Bowl (Scribner, New York, 1909), Volume 1.djvu/118

THE GOLDEN BOWL He slowly emitted his smoke. "And best give you, by the same token, yours to be magnificent with her?"

"I shall be as magnificent at least as I can."

Bob Assingham got up. "And you call me immoral?"

It made her hesitate a moment. "I'll call you stupid if you prefer. But stupidity pushed to a certain point is, you know, immorality. Just so what is morality but high intelligence?" This he was unable to tell her; which left her more definitely to conclude. "Besides, it's all, at the worst, great fun."

"Oh if you simply put it at that!—"

His implication was that in this case they had a common ground; yet even thus he couldn't catch her by it. "Oh I don't mean," she said from the threshold, "the fun that you mean. Good-night." In answer to which, as he turned out the electric light, he gave an odd short groan, almost a grunt. He had apparently meant some particular kind. 88