She deliberately drew a line across the centre of the table-cloth
"Now what might that represent?" he asked curiously.
"A line, Mr. Hillard. The moment you cross that line, that moment you leave this house. On guard!"
"Come, that is not brave. You can retreat till your shoulders touch the mat, but I must stand this side of the line, unable to reach you. And you have the advantage of the mask besides. You are not a fair fencer."
"The odds should be in my favor. I am a woman. My wrist is not so strong as yours."
"Physically, of course, I may pass the line; to reach the salt, for instance. Will that be against the rules?"
"To a certain extent, no."
"You make it very hard. You have put temptation in my path."
"Bid Satan get behind thee."
"But supposing he should take it into his head to—shoulder me forward?"
"In that case, under the new rules, I should referee the matter."
"I wish I knew the color of your eyes. Behind those holes I see nothing but points of fire, no color. Are they blue, brown, grey?"
"They are blue. But supposing I wear this mask because my face is dreadfully scarred, and that I have some vanity?"
"Vanity, yes; but scars, never; at least never so deep as you yourself can make. You do not wear that mask to cover defects, but out of mercy to me."
And so the duel went on. Sometimes the heat of the mask almost suffocated her, and she could hardly resist the desire to tear it from her face. Yet, in spite of this discomfort, she was enjoying herself. This adventure was as novel to her as it was to him. Once she rose and approached the window, slyly raising the mask and breathing deeply of the cold air which rushed in through the crevices. When she turned she found that he, too, had risen. He was looking at the steins, one of which he held in his hand. Moreover, he returned and set the stein down beside his plate.
"Tell me, why do you do that?" There was an anxious note in her voice.
"I have an idea. But let us proceed with the dinner. This salad—"
"I am more interested in the idea." She pushed aside the salad and took a sip of the ruby Burgundy. Had he discovered something?
"May I smoke?" he asked.
"By all means."
He lighted a cigarette and put the case near the line.
"Do you not enjoy a cigarette?"
"Sometimes," she answered. "But that idea—"
"Will you not have one?" He moved the case still nearer to the line.
She reached out a firm round white arm.
"One moment," he said; "let us understand each other thoroughly."
"What do you mean?" her arm poised in mid-air. "To touch a cigarette you must cross the line to this side."
She withdrew her arm slowly.
"I shall not smoke. If I crossed the line I should establish a dangerous precedent. A good stroke. Now, the idea. I must have that idea."
He blew the smoke toward the lamp; it sailed over the flaming wicks and darted into the dark beyond.
"The mirror over the piano confused me. I had seen it somewhere before. Then, there was that old copy of Botticelli. The frame was familiar, but I could not place it. This stein, however!" He laughed; the laughter was boyish, even triumphant.
"Well, that stein?" She was now leaning across the table, her fingers tense on the cloth.
"I bought that stein two seasons ago. This is the Sandfords' place, and you are the veiled lady who has been riding Mrs. Sandford's favorite hunter in the park."
"And so?"
"I shall find out who you are presently."
"How?"
"That shall be my secret. Mutual friends, indeed! You will not have to send me home blindfolded."
"That is precisely what I shall do, in a certain sense. My name? Perhaps. But you will never know my face."
"Suppose I should determine to cross the line, despite your precepts?"
They stood up simultaneously. In a matter of this sort he was by far the quicker. In an instant he had caught her by the wrist, at the same time drawing her irresistibly round the table toward him. His grasp was not rough, only firm. She ceased to pull against him.
"I must see your face. I shall never be at peace if I do not."
"Certainly you will never know any peace if you do. Be careful!"
His free hand stole toward the strings of her mask. She moved not. His face was very close to hers now. If only she would struggle! Yes, he was certain now that her eyes were blue. But they looked at him with a menace which chilled his ardor. He dropped the hand from the mask and released her wrist.
"No, I haven't the courage. If I take that mask from your face, it will be the end. And I do not want this ever to end. If you will not let me see your face of your own free will, so be it. I shall see it some day, mark me. Fate does not cross two paths in this manner without a purpose." He stepped back slowly. "You do not understand the lure of that mask."
"Perhaps I do. I am beginning to admire your self-control, Mr. Hillard; I am beginning to admire it very much. But I am tired now, and I must ask you to go."
"Once more, will you let me see your face?"
"No. If, as you say, fate intends for us to meet again, you will see it. But I have my doubts. So it is my will to pass out of your life as completely as though I had never entered it; from one fog into another. No, I am not a happy woman; I am not happy in my friendships. Listen to me," and her voice grew low and sweet. "Let me appeal to your imagination. This light adventure shall be a souvenir for your old age. One night Romance stepped into your life and out of it. Think! There will always be the same charm, the same mystery, the same enchantment. Knowing nothing of me, there will follow no disillusions, no disenchantments; I shall always be Cinderella, or the Sleeping Beauty, or what your fancy wills. Do you understand me?"
He nodded.
"Nothing," she proceeded, "nothing lasts so long in the recollection as a pleasant mystery. In other days, in other times.... Well, on my side I shall recall this night pleasantly. Without knowing it, you have given me a new foothold in life. I did not believe that there lived a single man who could keep to the letter of his bargain. Presently you will forget the chagrin. Good night! And do not lean out of any more windows," she added lightly.
"You are right," he said reluctantly. "Something to dream over in my old age. And certainly I shall dream of it; a flash of sunlight in the shadow."
Then slowly he reached down toward her wine-glass. She understood his purpose and essayed to stop him.
"Do not deny me this little thing," he said.
She let her hand fall. He took the glass, held it against the light to see where her lips had touched it. Carefully he poured out the wine from the opposite side and kissed the rim.
"I shall keep this glass. I must have some visible object to make sure that this hasn't been a dream. Mrs. Sandford may send me the bill."
"You may kiss my hand, Mr. Hillard."
He bent quickly and kissed, not the hand, but the wrist where the marks of his fingers still remained faintly. He squared himself, and gazed long and steadfastly into her eyes. In that moment he seemed to her positively handsome; and there was a flutter in her heart that she was unable to define. On his part he realized the sooner he was gone the better; there was a limit to his self-control.... He gained the street somehow. There he stopped and turned. Did the curtain move? He wasn't sure; but he raised his hat, settled it firmly on his head, and walked rapidly away. He was rather proud of himself. He had conquered a hundred temptations. And he confidently knew that it would be many a day before she ceased to think of him. Was she single or married? Well, it mattered not, one way or the other; he knew that long years ago this night had been written and his fate summed up. Unhappy? There was more than one mask. Once in his own room, however, the longing to see her face grew terribly strong. He stood the glass on the mantel and stared at it. Why must she go out of his life? What obstacle was there to stand between them and a kindly friendship?
There was little sleep for him that night; and in the morning the first thing he did was to pick up the wine-glass. It was all true. And then his good resolutions melted and vanished. He must have one more word with her, happen what might. So at ten o'clock he called a cab and drove rapidly to the Sandford place. Snow had fallen during the night, and many of the steps were still spotless white. Impossible! He leaned from the cab and rubbed his eyes. Absolutely impossible! For, what did he see? Wooden shutters over all the lower windows and the iron gates closed before the doors! And not a footprint anywhere. This was extraordinary. He jumped from the cab, ran up the steps, and rang the bell, rang it ten times with minute intervals. And no one answered. Then he heard a call from across the street. A man stood in one of the area-ways.
"Nobody home!" he shouted. "Gone to Egypt."
"But there was some one here last night," Hillard shouted back.
"Last night? Guess you've got the wrong street and wrong house, young man."
"But this is the Sandford place?"
"Nothing else."
"I was here last night."
"Dreaming. That house has been empty since November. I happen to be the caretaker."
Hillard went back to his cab, dazed. No one there last night? Come, come; there was a mistake somewhere. It was out of the question that he had been in another house. He would soon find out whether or not he had dined there the night before.
"A cable-office!" he cried to the cabby. "Hurry!"
Once there he telephoned down-town and secured Sandford's cable address. Then he filled out a blank which cost him ten dollars. Late that night at the club he received his reply. It was terse.
You are crazy. House absolutely empty. SANDFORD.