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"May--" he began, standing a few feet froht distance between theeable abyss The sound of his voice echoed uncannily through the hoot to tell youabout myself "

She sat silent, without a movement or a tremor of her lashes She was still extremely pale, but her face had a curious tranquillity of expression that seemed drawn from some secret inner source

Archer checked the conventional phrases of self-accusal that were crowding to his lips He was determined to put the case baldly, without vain recrimination or excuse

"Madame Olenska--" he said; but at the name his wife raised her hand as if to silence hiold of her wedding-ring

"Oh, why should we talk about Ellen tonight?" she asked, with a slight pout of iht to have spoken before"

Her face remained calm "Is it really worth while, dear? I know I've been unfair to her at times--perhaps we all have You've understood her, no doubt, better than we did: you've always been kind to her But what does it matter, now it's all over?"

Archer looked at her blankly Could it be possible that the sense of unreality in which he felt himself imprisoned had communicated itself to his wife?

"All over--what do you mean?" he asked in an indistinct stammer

May still looked at hi back to Europe so soon; since Granny approves and understands, and has arranged to make her independent of her husband--"

She broke off, and Archer, grasping the corner of the ainst it,thoughts

"I supposed," he heard his wife's even voice go on, "that you had been kept at the office this evening about the business arrange, I believe" She lowered her eyes under his unseeing stare, and another fugitive flush passed over her face

He understood that his own eyesaway, rested his elbows on the ed furiously in his ears; he could not tell if it were the blood in his veins, or the tick of the clock on thewhile the clock slowly measured out fiveher rise to push it back, Archer at length turned and faced her