"I didn't know exactly what my feeling was then; but I knew afterward," he went on. "Ogden wasn't any part of our past. I didn't want to share you with him that night."
"He didn't want to share me with you either, so you were both satisfied," returned Mildred demurely.
"Was he satisfied?" asked Van Tassel savagely. "Methinks not. I notice that whatever your engagements have been this week, he has not been in them."
"How observing you are!"
"Yes. He is done for. It would be interesting to know how many scalps that makes, Mildred."
"Look here, Jack," the girl was not smiling, and her eyes darkened as she met his; "if you will practice conservation of energy now, I will give you a capital opportunity to air your talents in amateur theatricals next winter. You are the very man we have been looking for."
"Can I make love to you?"
"That depends on your versatility."
"Or my patience in standing in line. I've been standing in line all the week. Don't you think it is about time I got there?"
"What do you call this?" Mildred gave him a tantalizing glance from under her half-dropped lids. "I arrive early at the rendezvous. We sit tête-à-tête, and how do you make use of the time?"