"Let us talk of it to-morrow," said Oscar.
"No, no, now," said Thora.
"But perhaps Helga herself--" began Oscar, and then he stopped, whereupon Helga, hearing her own name, said with a nervous laugh:
"What is that about Helga?"
"Yes, what is it?" said several voices at once, and then the Factor explained.
"Thora wants to have her sister to accompany them on their tour, and she is trying to persuade Oscar."
There were some unconvincing cries of "Why not?" and "Splendid!" and then there was silence, broken only by Thora's voice saying:
"Please, Oscar, please!"
It was the last thing Oscar could have expected--to have temptation thrown in his way at the moment when he was trying to escape from it; to have the flood-gate of passion opened afresh after he had struggled so hard to dam it--and to have this done by Thora herself, in her blind unselfishness and innocent joy, as if the powers of hell were making game of her.
But the company were waiting for Oscar's answer; and, not to betray himself, he tried to escape by banter. "I'm not like Neils--I don't want both of you," he said; but still the pleading, coaxing voice was at his ear, saying: