"Yes, Jasper?"
"What—what did you mean by that, Ellen? By what you just said?"
She faced him in the center of the room.
"I've been wanting to tell you, Jasper."
"Well?"
Her hands hung quite quietly at her sides.
"I've put up with you for a long time, Jasper. I haven't said very much, you know."
"What?" He stuttered.
"Oh, yes," she went on evenly. "If it weren't for your vanity you'd have realized long ago what a contemptible little man you really are."
He interrupted her.