"Yes," he said eagerly. "With such a friend I should grow strong again."
"There are places, earthly paradises, which I've read about. In Samoa or Tahiti——"
He interrupted her, passionately.
"Don't speak of them—yet. Betty, I must turn the key of the fountain. I cannot speak for—for a few days. Do you understand? If you could read my heart. If—if——"
She saw that his excitement was overmastering him.
"Mark, I do understand. We understand each other. You are right. The key of the fountain must be turned. I'll do it, not you." She sprang up lightly, ran to the cypress, and turned the key. When she came back he was staring at the goddess, white and shivering.
Before she went to bed, Betty was cross-examined by Lady Randolph.
"Then he hasn't actually spoken?"
"He will," Betty declared. "And within a week."
"And Stepney?"