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Like a man who reenters a closed and darkened house and lies down; lying there, remains conscious of sunlight outside, of bird-calls, and the breeze in the trees, so had Drene entered into the obscurity of himself. Through the chambers of his brain the twilit corridors where cringed his bruised and disfigured soul, there nothing stirring except the automatic pulses which never cease.
Sometimes, when the sky itself crashes earthward and the world lies in ruins from horizon to horizon, life goes on. The things that men live through and live! But no doubt Death was too busy elsewhere to attend to Drene. He had become very lean by the time it was all over. Gray glinted on his temples; gray softened his sandy mustache: youth was finished as far as he was concerned.
"But I don't," remarked his partner dryly. "For the sake of argument, you do. What happens? Do I raise hell? No. I merely thank you. Why? Because I don't want her if you can get her away. That," he added, with satisfaction, "is philosophy. Isn't it, Drene?" Guilder intervened pleasantly: "I don't think Drene is particularly interested in philosophy. I'm sure I'm not. Shut up, please."
When it comes to a man like Jack Graylock going so far as to ask her to marry him, good night, nurse! Nothing doing, even for me." "Even for you," repeated Guilder in his moderate and always modulated voice. "Well, if she's escaped you and Graylock, she's beyond any danger from Drene, I fancy." Quair smiled appreciatively, as though a delicate compliment had been offered him.
It is still the goal to the color-blind and normal alike, whatever they call it, however, they visualize it. That is its only importance; it is The Goal..... In things spiritual the same obtains whether one's vision embraces Nirvana, or the Algonquin Ocean of Light, or a pallid Christ half hidden in floating clouds Drene, it is all one, all one.
For a long time Drene sat there looking down at the weapon on his knees. And after a while, the other man spoke huskily: "It's bad enough either way for me, Drene. I'll do what you wish in the matter. I'll leave the country; I'll stay; whichever you say. Or," he said with a ghastly smile, "I'll clean out that automatic for you to-night if you'll marry her."
Drene, gravely annoyed, continued to pinch bits of modeling wax out of a round tin box, and to stick them all over the sketch he was modifying. Now and then he gave a twirl to the top of his working table, which revolved with a rusty squeak. "If you two unusually intelligent gentlemen ask me what good a woman the world " began Quair.
"Not that a kiss is very important in these days," she continued, "yet it might interest you to hear that a friend of yours rather fancies me. He wouldn't like you to do it. But " She lifted her blue eyes with faint malice "What is a woman between friends?" "Who is he?" "Jack Graylock." Drene remained motionless. "I haven't encouraged him," she said. "Perhaps that is why." "Why he fancies you?"
You can have a model of the chapel to morrow. We went on with it as a speculation. Now we've clinched the thing. When shall I send it up from the office?" "I'll look it over, but " "And," interrupted Guilder, "you had better get that Miss White for the Virgin before she goes off somewhere out of reach." Drene looked up somberly: "I haven't kept in touch with her.
"Yes, sometimes." He looked into her very clear eyes, now brightly blue with intelligent perception of his not too civil badinage. "And sometimes," he went on, "you're funny when you don't intend to be." "You are, too, Mr. Drene." "What?" "Didn't you know it?" A dull color tinted his cheek bones. "No," he said, "I didn't know it." "But you are. For instance, you don't walk; you stalk.
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