"You wish to make a few inquiries about the picture--yes?"
"About the--about the subject of the picture. That is, about--about the model."
Mr. Gibbs became a peony red. The artist's smile grew more pronounced.
"About the model?"
"Yes, about the model. Where does she live?"
Although the day was comparatively cool, Mr. Gibbs was so hot that it became necessary for him to take out his handkerchief to wipe his brow. Mr. Bodenham was a sunny-faced young man. He looked at his visitor with laughter in his eyes.
"You are aware, Mr. Gibbs, that yours is rather an unusual question. I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance, and we artists are not in the habit of giving information about our models to perfect strangers. It would not do. Moreover, how do you know that I painted from a model? The faces in pictures are sometimes creations of the artist's imagination. Perhaps oftener than the public think."
"I know the model in 'Stitch! Stitch! Stitch!'"
"You know her? Then why do you come to me for information?"
"I should have said that I knew her years ago."