THE LURE OF THE FLAME
 
 "Roy Keith thought her beautiful! 
 What did it matter -whether anyone 
 thought her good or not?" 
 
 M*RICMARO BCEMM
 
 THE 
 LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 BY 
 
 MARK DANGER 
 
 "Ignorance it the curte of God, 
 
 Knowledge the wing wherewith we flv to heaven.' 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE MACAULAY COMPANY 
 1913
 
 Copyright, 1913, by 
 THE MACAULAY COMPANY
 
 PREFACE 
 
 I had just begun a new story for one of our promi- 
 nent newspapers, when a well-known doctor was an- 
 nounced. 
 
 When I say that he is well known I do not mean 
 that he is an idol of Mayfair or a much sought-after 
 consultant, though I have no doubt that he could have 
 been either, for he has brains, appearance and sufficient 
 means of his own. 
 
 But for some reason or other he has elected to de- 
 vote himself entirely to those who require the services 
 of the Healer, in its twofold sense the Outcasts of So- 
 ciety, the gutter dwellers of this vast City. 
 
 "I know you're keen on the White Slave Traffic," 
 he began. 
 
 "I was," I corrected. "But now the Bill is passed 
 my keenness has lost its point. Even the papers have 
 dropped the subject which they no doubt consider 
 stale." 
 
 "Mark Danger," he reproved, shaking his fine head, 
 "with your name and your intelligence I expected bet- 
 ter things of you! Both the papers and the public 
 are wrong. They go hammer and tongs at a thing, en- 
 courage the grossest exaggeration regarding it and work 
 it to death until one step towards their goal is made, 
 like the passing of this Bill and then they drop it like 
 a useless bauble. In other words, they forsake the fight. 
 Having gained one Victory they think the battle won. 
 But is it ? Those they have been denouncing know quite 
 well that it is not. That, if they lie low for a time, 
 their chance will come again. And, also, they remem- 
 
 6
 
 6 PKEFACE 
 
 ber what you, and the others, have forgotten all along, 
 that greater than their power is that of the lure. 
 Throughout this noble crusade how many have recalled 
 the moth which cannot resist the flame which seeks it 
 unceasingly returns to it despite its injuries is finally 
 destroyed by it? No one drives it there the flame 
 does not go to it it was merely lured there by the 
 brightness and the warmth." 
 
 "Now these papers," he undid a bulky parcel as he 
 spoke, "tell a true story from its beginning to its end. 
 The story of a White Slave who, without trickery, kid- 
 napping or brutality, found herself ensnared forever 
 by the lure, through vanity perhaps, but above all 
 through ignorance. For, don't forget, Danger, 'Igno- 
 rance is the Devil's best asset.' And that's why I am 
 here, now, just when you wish me at the Antipodes, 
 no doubt. But if anyone can help me, you are the 
 man." 
 
 "How!" I asked. 
 
 "I want to warn the probable victims of a horrible 
 life by telling them this true story. But I have not 
 an agile pen. These papers, various letters, a diary, 
 a manuscript or two, were left to me by a dying woman 
 whom I attended in misery, poverty, appalling disease. 
 She was still young, still beautiful, still, I venture to 
 believe, capable of some good or she would not have 
 asked me to use her life-history for the salvation of oth- 
 ers, who were still as innocent, and ignorant of evil, 
 as she once was. Borne on the troubled waters of ill- 
 fortune, buffeted by the hopelessness of subsistence on 
 low wages, by unsatisfied longings and desires, she had 
 drifted slowly but surely towards the lure. Like the 
 moth she had tried to go elsewhere but ever came 
 back, unable, nay unwilling, to stay away. That is 
 what I want you to tell about, Danger using her true
 
 PREFACE 7 
 
 story to show how easy it is to drift into sin how im- 
 possible to escape from its consequences. Write it your 
 own way, whichever it is I know you must do good. 
 But don't decide yet. Think it over, and let me know 
 later what you mean to do." 
 
 Well, I thought it over. With the result that the 
 other story was laid aside. May the warning of Zoe's 
 life open many eyes to the dangers which may beset 
 them, or those they love may the message by one White 
 Slave reach far and wide to those who do not realize 
 that publicity is the surest cure for such evils that but 
 for mock prudery and ignorance half the dungeons in 
 hell must perforce be closed. 
 
 MARK DANGER.
 
 The Lure of the Flame 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 TO the last day of her life Zoe never saw a couple 
 standing in close converse under the feeble light 
 of a street lamp, without recalling a vivid picture of 
 the man and woman she had seen in a dreary back 
 street, in the old town of Sainte Croix, the night she 
 ran away from school. 
 
 There was something so evil in their faces, so sin- 
 ister in the glance they threw at her a hatless, dishev- 
 eled, miserable little girl that she took to her heels 
 again. 
 
 But as she turned the corner into the Rue des Co- 
 lombes she pulled up suddenly to avoid colliding with 
 two men who drew back, exclaiming: 
 
 ''Hallo! Steady now!" 
 
 " Hallo! What's the matter?" 
 
 "It's those horrid people," she gasped, glancing back 
 apprehensively. 
 
 They were just as surprised to hear her answer them 
 in English as she had been to hear them speak it, for 
 one of them laughed, saying: 
 
 "By the Holy Moses, Hales! They speak it even 
 here!" 
 
 But the other paid no heed as he turned to her and 
 asked : 
 
 11
 
 12 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "What people do you mean?" 
 
 She explained hurriedly, a little confused, for she 
 realized that the evil she had seen in those shadowy faces 
 was worse than anything she knew, though at the same 
 time she could not help noticing that these strangers 
 were very different to the provencial Frenchmen she 
 was used to seeing that they were decidedly English, 
 and nice English at that. 
 
 What luck for her ! If only she could pluck up cour- 
 age to ask them to help her she would certainly get 
 back to London and home much sooner than she had 
 dared to hope. For, soon after leaving the sheltering 
 walls of Madame Delorme's school she had realized that 
 she had not a farthing piece upon her, and knew no one 
 in the town. True, deep down in her heart she had not 
 thought much of what she meant to do. The chief thing 
 was to frighten Mademoiselle Berthe, the adored 
 mistress who had been unkind to her to soften her 
 heart. 
 
 The grave-eyed man, whose name was Hales, evi- 
 dently thought she had behaved very childishly in run- 
 ning away just because Mademoiselle Berthe had sent 
 her to Coventry, for he said nothing as she ended her 
 breathless story, though the other tall, also, with a 
 merry face and laughing eyes, exclaimed: 
 
 "Poor little kid! What a damned shame!" 
 
 He said it so feelingly that the tears rushed to her 
 eyes, and, although she blinked them back as hard as 
 she could, they would have their way. 
 
 "Hush, Roy," said Hales reprovingly, as taking Zoe 
 by the arm he went on : "You're cold and tired. Come 
 into this shop and have some chocolate while we decide 
 what you ought to do." 
 
 He drew her towards the confectioner's behind them 
 and, as she had never been inside it and had no fear 
 of being recognized, and cared even less if she were,
 
 THE LURE 0$ THE FLAME 13 
 
 Zoe let him lead her to a table in a quiet corner, where 
 she sat down with a sudden pang of hunger, as she re- 
 membered that she had been too unhappy to eat that 
 day. 
 
 "Why were you sent to Coventry?" asked Roy, look- 
 ing kindly into her face. 
 
 "Because they believed that I had been writing to a 
 horrid pimply-faced boy at the college. But I didn't 
 though I know who did. So, as I'm the dog with a 
 bad name I have to bear the brunt. But it would be 
 horrid for her to own up, when he doesn't care for her 
 and" 
 
 ' ' How do you know that ? ' ' 
 
 "Because he never looks at her." 
 
 "Who does he look at?" 
 
 "Well if you will know he stares at me. They all 
 do, because I'm the only English girl, I suppose 
 and" 
 
 She faltered, knowing quite well that was not the 
 true reason. Had not her mirror told her how beau- 
 tiful she was? Anyhow, Roy's eyes said so plainly 
 enough as he exclaimed laughingly: 
 
 ' ' So you 're a sort of curiosity, of course ! Is the other 
 girl pretty?" 
 
 "Yes if you like big brown eyes and " 
 
 "I don't. I prefer dark gray ones with long, black 
 lashes; and soft chestnut hair, and lips like " 
 
 "Don't be a fool," whispered Mr. Hales, with a 
 frown. And Zoe, who was not supposed to hear, looked 
 down at her chocolate with a strange feeling about her 
 heart. 
 
 For she did not think Roy a fool for looking at her, 
 nor, for the matter of that, did she think the pimply 
 boy one. She would hate to be like poor little Marthe 
 Luce who was so ugly that none of the college boys, who 
 sat on the other side of the church to that occupied by
 
 14 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 the pupils of the Pension Delorme, were even known 
 to glance at her with anything but disgust. So ugly 
 that her life must be an even greater burden than Zoe 'a 
 had seemed to-day. 
 
 "And what do you mean to do, Miss Zoe?" asked Mr. 
 Hales. 
 
 "Go home, of course. What else can I do?" 
 
 "Change your mind and face the music like the brave 
 girl I'm sure you are." 
 
 "Never!" she cried. "There would be a dreadful 
 row, and " 
 
 "That would be better than going home like this," he 
 replied gravely, his eyes scanning her face. 
 
 "Don't listen to him!" exclaimed Roy. "He's going 
 to be a parson, so thinks it's his duty to preach. You 
 needn't look so cross, old boy, but I mean to help Miss 
 Zoe all I can, and you know you'd like to also. What 
 are we coming to if we can't be as brave as knights of 
 old and rescue distressed damsels when they come our 
 way?" 
 
 "To rescue one from an act of folly she might regret 
 all her life, is a greater deed of prowess than to help 
 her to commit it," said the elder man, looking kindly at 
 Zoe. 
 
 She blushed, knowing that he was right, knowing that 
 he thought her a foolish little girl. Only she could not 
 help pouting and feeling annoyed with him. Yet, as 
 he went on, urging her to face the music, the thought of 
 distressing her widowed mother mingled with that of 
 never seeing Mademoiselle Berthe again. She had never 
 realized what that would mean until now. And al- 
 though Roy interrupted now and then, telling her not 
 to mind old Hales, who, if he was his tutor, was cer- 
 tainly not his keeper and could not prevent his acting 
 as her banker until she got home or for the matter 
 of that, taking her back himself, as he was sick of this
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 15 
 
 beastly walking tour, she shook her head at him and 
 rose suddenly. 
 
 "You've won," she said, looking at Hales. "Ill go 
 back." 
 
 He smiled approvingly. 
 
 "That's a brave girl. I knew you would. And of 
 course Mr. Keith did too " 
 
 "He tried hard enough to lead me into temptation," 
 she laughed. "And I'm sure I don't know now, why 
 I'm doing what you want." 
 
 "Because it's what you want yourself," he smiled. 
 "Come we'll take you back, if you like." 
 
 And so, presently, she found herself once more out- 
 side the familiar gates in the narrow cobbled streets 
 where the Pension Delorme had stood through many 
 generations; world-famed almost, as one of the princi- 
 pal French Protestant schools; the other, the boys' 
 college a few streets off. 
 
 If by any chance the side door had been locked she 
 would have to ring and so proclaim her escapade to 
 all who cared to know, perhaps be refused admittance. 
 She held her breath at the thought and frankly hoped 
 it would happen ; for then Mr. Hales would not say she 
 had not faced the music, and next to being admired for 
 her looks Zoe loved praise for her deeds. 
 
 "Good-by," said Hales, as they parted, "and good 
 luck." 
 
 "Good-by," said Keith, smiling, "and if you regret 
 this virtuous step remember that we are at the Hotel 
 de la Boule d'Or until to-morrow when we resume our 
 weary tramp onwards." 
 
 "Good-by and thank you " said Zoe, her heart too 
 full for more. 
 
 The handle yielded to her touch and the door swung 
 open upon a dark tunnel of a passage which she entered 
 tremblingly. But not without one more glance at the
 
 16 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 two watching her one more keen scrutiny of the 
 younger man's face which, seen in the dim light of the 
 lamp overhead, looked almost like a woman's, so ethereal 
 was its beauty. 
 
 "I shall remember it until I die," thought Zoe, as 
 she closed the door and swallowed a sob. 
 
 And yet there was nothing wonderful about it, after 
 all just a handsome, clean-cut aquiline profile eyes 
 as blue as the sky, hair which must have curled beau- 
 tifully during his babyhood judging by the delicious 
 crink it showed now, a laughing mouth. A face show- 
 ing more weakness than strength and none of the firm 
 reliability of his friend's, yet most women were at- 
 tracted by it first, many broke their hearts because of it. 
 And Zoe, whose fate had been more or less shaped that 
 night, was indeed to remember it until she died. 
 
 She was just at that impressionable age when the 
 longings of latent womanhood clamor for an outlet, with- 
 out explaining what they mean. "Sweet Seventeen" 
 the poet called it, because, being a mere man, he had 
 no knowledge of the "bitter Seventeen" she really is 
 with her difficult moods and constant frowns. 
 
 Some girls are hardly troubled by these strange feel- 
 ings and regard them more or less as they would an 
 attack of indigestion ; many expend them on each other, 
 hence those close schoolgirl friendships which are as 
 easily dissolved as they are formed. Others, however, 
 have a vague inkling of their raison d'etre, and turn as 
 naturally to the other sex as the pendulum swings from 
 right to left. If it is not available, they are consumed 
 with passion for some woman older than themselves 
 a heroine of perfection instead of a hero of delight. 
 
 Such a girl was Zoe, whose affectionate nature poured 
 out its wealth of love, for want of a better object, at 
 the feet of Mademoiselle Berthe, an anasmic young 
 woman with a face like a Madonna and a voice like a
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 17 
 
 silver bell. Her smile, which she had practiced before 
 her looking-glass, plunged the child into an ecstasy of 
 delight; her frown, into a hell of misery. 
 
 But this night's adventure had altered all that. 
 Whilst Roy Keith went his way with Humphrey Hales 
 thinking but slightly, if at all, of the little schoolgirl, 
 she placed his image on the pedestal Mademoiselle 
 Berthe had occupied, somewhat to the later surprise of 
 that young woman who had been proud of her conquest 
 of the "petite Anglaise," and had merely sent her to 
 Coventry for the pleasure of seeing her suffer, much 
 as a cat plays with a mouse. 
 
 For there was a vein of cruelty in the Madonna of 
 the school, as there so often is in these thin-lipped, pure- 
 browed, women whose cold acceptance of homage goad 
 many a man to his doom. 
 
 Zoe could hardly believe that her absence during the 
 recreation hours had passed unnoticed, and yet it was 
 plain enough that no one showed undue surprise when 
 she entered the large classroom at prayer time. 
 
 How she longed to blurt out the truth; to fling a 
 bomb into the midst of these smug, self-satisfied girls 
 who still regarded her as pariah, even those who had 
 pretended to be her friends. Luckily, however, she re- 
 strained the impulse and followed them silently to the 
 dormitories with a feeling of contempt, not unmixed 
 with hatred, instead of the despairing misery which she 
 had found unbearable. 
 
 As she passed the graceful figure of the young gov- 
 erness and glanced up into her brown eyes, she was 
 surprised how little she really cared whether they re- 
 turned her look or not, for the vision of Roy Keith's 
 smile filled her mind, and his caressing words rang 
 through her heart: 
 
 "I prefer dark gray eyes with long, black lashes, and 
 chestnut hair and lips like ..."
 
 18 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 So she passed out, head high and face aglow. For 
 instead of offering a gift which might be spurned she 
 had herself received one, the homage of a god. 
 
 She had not gone far when Mademoiselle Berthe called 
 her back. 
 
 "Are you sorry, ma petite?" she asked. 
 
 "What for, Mademoiselle?" 
 
 The brown eyes widened. There was a note in the 
 girl's voice Mademoiselle had never heard before, more- 
 over the pleading, suppliant look was missing from the 
 little pale face. 
 
 "Because I was grieved and sad," she murmured. 
 "Ah, my Zoe, if you knew how pained I am to see you 
 in disgrace, to know that you are an unhappy little 
 girl-" 
 
 "No," interrupted Zoe, "I'm unhappy no longer, Ma- 
 demoiselle. I was foolish to mind at all when I have 
 done nothing wrong nothing. And if you still believe 
 I have, I don't really care, as I thought I did " 
 
 And she turned away, careless of the effect of 
 her words, glad that she had not said she had tried 
 to run away because Mademoiselle was displeased with 
 her. 
 
 What a goose she had been to mind that! And yet, 
 no for if she had not minded she would never have 
 seen Roy Keith who liked her eyes, her hair, her lips 
 and what was he going to say about her lips when Mr. 
 Hales called him a fool? 
 
 All through that night she dreamt of Roy all 
 through the succeeding day, indifferent to Mademoi- 
 selle Berthe 's puzzled look, to her coaxing words. 
 
 For she had drunk of the admiration in a man's eyes, 
 and her whole being was aflame with exultation. 
 
 Roy Keith thought her beautiful! What did it mat- 
 ter whether Mademoiselle Berthe, or anyone else, thought 
 her good or not?
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 19 
 
 On the third day she was summoned to Madame 
 Delorme's study, and went, wondering if the real cul- 
 prit had confessed, or if another letter had been found. 
 Her lip curled at the thought. If they knew what she 
 knew, could they believe she would even dream of writ- 
 ing to a silly college boy? 
 
 But, as she opened the door, the sight of the confec- 
 tioner's wife told her what had happened, and she 
 stepped in hesitatingly, her eyes widening with fear, her 
 cheeks pale. 
 
 Madame Delorme nodded emphatically. All the signs 
 of guilt were there. She could not doubt a word of 
 what she had just heard incredible as it seemed. 
 
 In a few minutes the whole story was out, and an- 
 other indelible picture traced in the gallery of Zoe's 
 mind. 
 
 How often in after years did she recall it ! 
 
 There was Madame Delorme, white with rage and in- 
 dignation ; Madame Vigny, the fat, red-faced bourgeoise, 
 with apologetic eyes, and a little apart Mademoiselle 
 Berthe a smile curving her thin lips. 
 
 Strange to say, it was she who had discovered every- 
 thing by a chance visit to the shop. Poor Madame 
 Vigny had let the cat out of the bag, without guessing 
 what harm she did, as she inquired feelingly after the 
 "belle petite Anglaise" who had seemed so upset when 
 her friends had brought her to the shop. Perhaps they 
 were uncles or, even brothers! though the resemblance 
 was certainly very slight. 
 
 At first Mademoiselle Berthe had not understood 
 but as the woman went on to describe Zoe, saying she 
 had seen her constantly with the school, and noticed 
 her as no one could help doing, the truth had dawned 
 upon her. She recalled Zoe's indifference, her strange 
 words, her cold manner. She was like a naughty little 
 dog who refused to do his tricks ; who no longer fawned
 
 20 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 upon the hand caressing him, no longer cringed when 
 frowned upon. 
 
 So the story was carried to Madame, and the shop- 
 keeper was summoned and Zoe made to confess. 
 
 But if she suffered as she told her story, she did not 
 show it. For the memory of that night was vivid 
 enough to give her strength and she seemed to hear 
 Hales urging her to face the music, and Keith echoing 
 his words. 
 
 Well, she was doing it as best she could, not even 
 a martyr could do more. 
 
 There was a tense silence when she had finished, and 
 Madame Vigny rose to go. She looked kindly at the 
 poor child as she passed, but Zoe's eyes were on Ma- 
 demoiselle Berthe. She was wondering how Mademoi- 
 selle could have been so cruel as to repay her devotion 
 in such fashion. She forgot that her devotion had 
 seemed to cool and knew nothing yet about the strange 
 ways in which even an indifferent recipient will repay 
 such cooling off. 
 
 Mademoiselle Berthe followed the sorrowful woman 
 and Zoe was left alone with Madame. She had had 
 many such moments before, but this was to be the last. 
 
 Madame had never understood the girl, had never 
 really liked her. Her mother did not pay full fees and 
 there were several others awaiting vacancies. Besides, 
 putting all this aside, Zoe was hardly a fit companion 
 for the other girls, not a single one of whom would 
 dream of stealing out of school after dark, or indeed 
 at any time, to keep a rendezvous with strange men! 
 How the rendezvous had been arranged she neither 
 knew nor cared, Zoe's word was unreliable anyhow, 
 and if there ever had been a doubt as to her having 
 written the letters found at the boys' school, that doubt 
 no longer existed. 
 
 "I shall write to your mother and tell her that I can-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 21 
 
 not keep you," she said, as she ended her sermon. 
 " Meanwhile you must go to the punishment room until 
 I have heard from her I cannot let you be with the 
 others after this." 
 
 Though she smarted with the injustice of it all, Zoe 
 took her dismissal in silence, telling herself that it was 
 no good saying anything, but wishing with all her heart 
 that she had not come back to face the music which was 
 so feeble, so terribly out of tune. 
 
 She blinked back her tears as she closed the door be- 
 hind her. After all, what did she care? She wanted 
 to go home. And Madame Delorme was a pig who had 
 not the sense to know when she was being told the truth. 
 For every word she had spoken had been true she had 
 only withheld one thing her real reason for running 
 away that night. Not for worlds would she have Ma- 
 demoiselle Berthe know that.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE punishment room was at the top of the house, 
 far away from the bustle of the classrooms. Its 
 window, grimed with dust, looked down upon the gar- 
 den, which was more or less deserted at this time of 
 year. Beyond, over the high white wall, there was a 
 glimpse of the beautiful clustering roofs of the ancient 
 town, of the church tower, of the silvery river Derdogne. 
 
 But Zoe knew this view by heart, and hated it in- 
 tensely. In fact, she hated everything, and everyone, 
 just now, and none more than Mademoiselle Berthe who 
 had betrayed her, and for whom she would have laid 
 down her life a week ago. 
 
 At first no one came near her but a sour-faced old 
 servant who had been there for years, and knew ex- 
 actly how to manage troublesome girls. But Zoe gave 
 her no trouble. She did not even refuse the unappe- 
 tizing meals brought up on a greasy black tray and 
 dumped down on the deal table without a cloth. 
 
 Other girls had objected to this so had Zoe at other 
 times, but the fun of getting a rise out of the disagree- 
 able old woman, of making her speak for the sake of 
 hearing a human voice no longer appealed to her. She 
 wanted to be alone. 
 
 On the second day she had a visitor Monsieur Ro- 
 land, the pastor of the Protestant church a barn as 
 cold and bare as the creed practiced therein. 
 
 He was a youngish man of spare habit, with lank hair 
 and a hatchet face. His eyes had something of the 
 light of genius in their pale depths. 
 
 22
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 23 
 
 Old Clotilde ushered him in and remained near the 
 door. But Zoe did not notice her. She resented the 
 pastor's visit and frowned, retorting rudely, as he ex- 
 pressed his sorrow for her disgrace, that of course he 
 believed all he was told, but she did not care. She was 
 going away from him and all he represented. She never 
 wished to see Sainte Croix again or anyone belonging 
 to it. 
 
 "Tell me the whole truth," he said quietly, "and I 
 will see what I can do. ' ' 
 
 ' ' You can do nothing, Monsieur, for I have told them. 
 The only thing I kept back was my real reason for run- 
 ning away. I said it was because I was unhappy but 
 it was not for that nor was it arranged, as I see you 
 have been told it was because somebody in the school 
 was cross with me somebody I thought I loved, she 
 seemed so good. But now I hate her, for she is even 
 wickeder than they think me. She is false and deceit- 
 ful and so are all the girls. I shall never believe in 
 another woman, except my mother never " 
 
 "But, my poor child if you go to another school 
 with these ideas " 
 
 "I shall not go to another school. For one thing, 
 what school would have me? For another, I am old 
 enough to leave. I was going home for good at the 
 end of the term; I am only going a little sooner, that 
 is all. And your prayers can do me no good. If I 
 ever have anything to do with religion again, I shall 
 become a nun." 
 
 She said it to shock him for she had never thought 
 of it before. And just because he showed no sign of 
 being shocked, only looked a little graver if anything, 
 she felt annoyed and went on recklessly: 
 
 "There is too much cant here, too much talk of sin 
 and its consequences. If to be good is to be dull and
 
 24 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 stupid like all the people here, I would rather be wicked. 
 And if they are going to heaven, well then, may I go 
 to hell!" 
 
 "Mademoiselle!" cried Clotilde, horrified. "If you 
 talk like that to Monsieur I shall fetch Madame." 
 
 "Fetch her. It would do her good to hear what I 
 think of her for once," exclaimed Zoe, turning on her. 
 "Fetch them all, and let them hear what the English 
 girl has to say. That's why they are so horrid and 
 cruel, because I stand alone. And so, Monsieur Ro- 
 land, a cunning old wretch like Clotilde, who is as 
 mean as anyone can be, is going to heaven, is she?" 
 
 Clotilde stood livid with rage as Zoe looked laugh- 
 ingly across at her. 
 
 "You know, Mademoiselle Zoe, that you do not mean 
 what you say," said Monsieur Roland, looking sadly 
 into her angry face. 
 
 "Oh, yes, I do. Just as I know that you think me 
 beyond redemption, only you are too polite to say so." 
 
 "I think you are a foolish, mistaken girl, Mademoi- 
 selle." 
 
 "Do you think me wicked?" 
 
 "I have told you what I think." 
 
 "Don't you think me as wicked as they say I am?" 
 She moved closer to him as she spoke, forcing his eyes 
 to hers. 
 
 "No, I do not think you wicked, Mademoiselle," he 
 replied slowly, a slight flush covering his face. "But 
 I believe you have the power of becoming either a very 
 good woman, or a very wicked one." 
 
 "Why, Monsieur?" 
 
 The color deepened in his face, he turned his eyes 
 away, but not before she had seen the faint glint of 
 admiration in them the look she was beginning to seek 
 for, in most eyes. 
 
 Her anger and despair vanished, her vanity awoke.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 25 
 
 He too saw she was beautiful he, the solemn pastor 
 of Ste. Croix! 
 
 "Why, Monsieur?" she repeated sweetly. 
 
 He brought his gaze back to her face. It was cold 
 and aloof, just as his face was as immovable as ever. 
 
 "Well, Mademoiselle Zoe," he said gravely, "as you 
 are going into the world I may as well tell you. God 
 has given you a great gift, the gift of beauty. Take 
 care that you use it properly, that you do not make 
 of it a curse." 
 
 That was all. She was alone. He had neither 
 prayed nor preached. Evidently he thought her hope- 
 less or, was he afraid of her? 
 
 "God has given you a great gift the gift of beauty." 
 
 He had said that if he said it, others knew it. How 
 could she make of it a curse? 
 
 She drew an open lesson book to her and sat down. 
 But her eyes did not read the words before her. They 
 were visioning those pale gray ones, lit by the admira- 
 tion she had seen in Keith's blue ones, in Hales', in the 
 college boys'. And a little smile of content played 
 round her lips. She would rather be beautiful in the 
 eyes of men than anything else. Why? She could 
 not tell she only knew it. As for her misusing her 
 beauty, what an absurd idea. All she asked was that 
 people should look upon her with pleasure, as she her- 
 self looked upon beautiful things. Surely there was 
 no harm in that! But what had he meant by saying 
 she had the power of becoming a very good woman or 
 a very wicked one? And, if so, how? 
 
 She puckered her brow a little over that, and then, 
 as she possessed the faculty of forgetting what she 
 neither understood nor liked, she put it aside with a 
 little laugh to dwell upon the memory of his admira- 
 tion, to recall the meeting with Keith and Hales and 
 wonder when she would see them both again, if ever.
 
 26 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 With all these memories, solitude was easy enough to 
 bear. It was only when the shadows deepened in the 
 corners and a pall of darkness crept over the objects 
 in the room that she wished for company. For the evil 
 faces she had seen in the street seemed then to come 
 to life, peering in through the uncurtained window, 
 straining towards her from the shadows, coming closer 
 and closer as she undressed hurriedly and slid into 
 bed to bury her face under the clothes. 
 
 For she did not find it so easy to dismiss that mem- 
 ory which stirred her curiosity to its depths. Then, too, 
 came the puzzling conjectures as to what her mother 
 would say and do. 
 
 Her heart misgave her somewhat, when she thought 
 of the gentle loving mother, whose whole life had been 
 devoted to her child. But of course she would not be- 
 lieve Madame Delorme's version when once Zoe had 
 told her everything. And so it was foolish to worry 
 instead of thinking of the good time ahead. 
 
 For, although Zoe knew that she might have to teach 
 French and music to one or two small children, she 
 quite expected to enjoy life when she got back to Sut- 
 ton, where her mother had made a name for herself 
 as professor of singing. She had gone to Sutton when 
 Zoe was about six with a letter of introduction to 
 the Vicar, and to one or two of the principal inhabitants, 
 with the result that her welcome had been unanimous. 
 Had these people known that the pretty young widow 
 was in reality a deserted wife, and that Major Dere- 
 ham was still alive, and abroad with another woman, 
 it is doubtful if she would have been considered suffi- 
 ciently blameless to teach the children of the elite of 
 Sutton, such as it was and still more to be received 
 by them as an honored guest and friend. But luckily 
 the innocent do sometimes escape the consequences of 
 the sins of others, though Mrs. Dereham had received
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 27 
 
 more than her share in having to slave for her living 
 as she did. 
 
 Zoe, however, did not realize that, for the rooms they 
 had taken with a respectable couple, were comfortably 
 furnished and very dainty; and the girl had never 
 asked in vain for anything, nor had she any idea of 
 the value of money. 
 
 But she knew quite well that her mother could not 
 afford to fetch her, even if her time had been free, and 
 was not surprised to receive a letter saying that she 
 was to travel her usual way, by sea, from Bordeaux 
 to London. The letter, which was short and more se- 
 vere than any Zoe had ever received from her, brought 
 the tears to her eyes, though she brushed them away in- 
 dignantly as she told herself that if her mother really 
 cared for her she could never have written like that. 
 
 Then seeing Clotilde watching her, with triumph in 
 her wicked old eyes, she tore the letter into a thou- 
 sand pieces, which she flung angrily at the woman's 
 face. 
 
 "You old spy-cat!" she cried. "Get out of here, or 
 I'll kill you." 
 
 She really sounded capable of any crime, but Clotilde 
 did not flinch. She was used to girls' tantrums and 
 this was not her first encounter with Zoe. Besides, she 
 owed the girl something for what she had said about 
 her to Monsieur Roland. 
 
 "Try it," she sneered. "But before doing so give 
 me your keys. Madame wants your trunk packed at 
 once and sent for them." 
 
 "If Madame wants my keys she can fetch them her- 
 self, for I'm not going to trust you with them," said 
 Zoe. 
 
 "You think I want your dirty keys myself?" splut- 
 tered the ugly old peasant. 
 
 "It seems possible," smiled Zoe.
 
 28 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "What for? Do you call me a thief?" 
 
 "If the cap fits, I do," said Zoe quietly. 
 
 With a growl of rage, Clotilde flung herself upon 
 the girl, mouthing a strange jargon as unlike French 
 as any language could be, which was just as well, per- 
 haps, for Zoe could only guess at what she meant. 
 
 "Let go how dare you touch me?" she cried, strug- 
 gling to free herself. But Clotilde held tight. She 
 might well have been the cat Zoe had called her, for 
 when peasant blood is up there is little to distinguish 
 it from that of other animals. 
 
 Thence followed a breathless struggle, during which 
 Zoe saw red, and fought hard and fiercely. All her 
 anger against the injustice she had suffered awoke, all 
 her hatred of this horrible old woman burst out. She 
 did not care what happened, for even her mother was 
 against her. 
 
 Suddenly a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and 
 pulled her back. 
 
 "Are you mad that you try to kill a poor old woman 
 like that?" demanded Madame Delorme severely. 
 
 Zoe glared from her astonished face at Clotilde 's, who 
 dropped panting upon a chair. 
 
 "No, I am not mad," she said breathlessly. "And 
 I wish I had killed her. She touched me first, though, 
 and" 
 
 "Madame, it is a lie!" cried Clotilde. 
 
 "Of course," said Madame. "Just try to calm your- 
 self, my poor girl. As for you, Zoe, it is a good thing 
 your mother has sent directions for your immediate re- 
 turn to her. And Mademoiselle Berthe will do your 
 packing if you give her the keys." 
 
 For the first time Zoe realized Mademoiselle Berthe 's 
 presence, but she barely glanced at her. 
 
 "I do not want Mademoiselle Berthe* to pack for me," 
 she said.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 29 
 
 Madame exclaimed angrily that there was no time 
 to lose, while Clotilde cried out shrilly that as Zoe 
 had accused her of being a thief, perhaps she thought 
 Mademoiselle Berthe was one, too. Mademoiselle 
 Berthe alone remained unmoved, smiling sweetly at the 
 frowning girl, who retorted quietly: 
 
 "Perhaps I do. But not the kind of thief you seem 
 to think yourself, though I never called you one. Any- 
 how, I have a right to pack my own things, Madame, 
 and if you want it done quickly you may as well let 
 me. You need not fear my speaking to any of the 
 girls, I despise them all too much, just as I despise 
 everyone else in Sainte Croix everyone " 
 
 Mademoiselle Berthe smiled sadly, and looked like a 
 maligned martyr. But Madame, who honestly believed 
 Zoe as bad as she said she was, began to scold again, 
 adding that as it might save time she could do her own 
 packing, but that Mademoiselle Berthe would stay with 
 her whilst she did it. 
 
 Ten minutes later Zoe was kneeling beside her trunks 
 in the dormitory where she had slept for over three 
 years, and Mademoiselle Berthe sat on a chair beside 
 her. But although she asked one or two questions, try- 
 ing to force the girl's reason for refusing her help, 
 Zoe had not said a word. She was determined to have 
 nothing more to do with this woman who had nearly 
 broken her heart to begin even now to forget her if 
 she could. 
 
 "I suppose you are angry because I told Madame 
 Vigny's story to Madame?" Mademoiselle asked at last. 
 "Yet you should remember, my little Zoe, it was my 
 duty, no matter how painful I found it. I owed it to 
 you for your sake and no one else's. And, to tell the 
 truth, I really believed you innocent and wanted you 
 to clear your name at once." 
 "I don't believe that," exclaimed Zoe, unable to keep
 
 30 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 silent, as she shut the trunk with a click and turned 
 the key. 
 
 "You doubt my word?" 
 
 "I cannot help myself, Mademoiselle." 
 
 "My poor little Zoe!" cooed the silvery voice. 
 
 "I am not your poor little Zoe," retorted the girl 
 angrily. 
 
 "You were glad enough to be so once " began the 
 governess. 
 
 "I daresay when I was fool enough to to believe 
 you were as good and kind as you look. But I know 
 now how stupid I was to believe anything of the kind, 
 and I don't want to have anything more to do with 
 you that's all." 
 
 "That's all, is it," said Mademoiselle, her eyes flash- 
 ing. "You a fast little schoolgirl whom no respectable 
 person would tolerate dare to speak to me like that? 
 How dare you? Is that your way of thanking me for 
 stooping to notice you, for being kind to you, for feel- 
 ing sorry for you, although you're only suffering the 
 punishment you deserve?" 
 
 But Zoe fled. Any further evidence of her folly in 
 thinking so much of this furious woman was more than 
 she could bear. Besides, she was afraid of herself, for 
 every unjust word goaded her to anger there was no 
 knowing what might happen if she stayed. 
 
 But long after she had left the school and sat in the 
 train opposite Madame Delorme, Mademoiselle's voice 
 no longer silvery, but shrill with anger, rang in her 
 ears: "A fast little schoolgirl, whom no respectable 
 person would tolerate!" 
 
 Even Madame had said nothing so horrible, so un- 
 true. 
 
 In fact, now Madame Delorme had got rid of her 
 contaminating presence in the school, she was quite 
 nice again, and after putting her in charge of the cap-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 31 
 
 tain, with whom they discovered she had traveled sev- 
 eral times, she handed her over to the stewardess. 
 
 Then, with a parting injunction to hug this sad ex- 
 perience to heart and lie down before the boat started, 
 she waddled away, and with her went Zoe's last link 
 with Sainte Croix. 
 
 She told the stewardess that she had no intention 
 of lying down yet, if at all. She was a good sailor and 
 she liked to see what was happening on deck. So she 
 followed Madame gingerly, half fearful of being seen 
 by her and with a feeling of elation at the thought of 
 her freedom and the jolly good time she meant to have. 
 
 As she stood near the gangway watching the influx 
 of passengers, she wondered if Roy Keith and his com- 
 panion would be amongst them, and was peering in- 
 quiringly into the faces of any men resembling them, 
 when she realized that a man in uniform was standing 
 beside her. 
 
 "Mr. Buckell!" she exclaimed, starting. 
 
 "I was just wondering how long it would take you 
 to recognize me, ' ' he laughed. 
 
 He was the second officer of the Canberra, and a great 
 favorite with its passengers. Zoe had made friends 
 with him during her first voyage on that steamer, when 
 he had found her the most sheltered corner and lis- 
 tened with interest to her schoolgirl chatter. 
 
 "Well," she went on, "for one thing, I was not think- 
 ing about seeing you, and for another, you have changed 
 yes, really." 
 
 "Not so much as you have," he replied quickly, his 
 eyes intent on her. "You're taller by a good bit, 
 and " He hesitated, his gaze running her over ap- 
 praisingly. 
 
 "You're stouter and you have a beard!" she ex- 
 claimed, the color flooding her face as she read the 
 meaning of his scrutiny.
 
 32 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Yes, I've grown in ugliness whilst you've grown in 
 grace," he chuckled. 
 
 "How silly you are," she retorted, her color deep- 
 ening. "I didn't say you were uglier." 
 
 "But I say you're prettier a great deal prettier, 
 although you always were a pretty little thing," he 
 whispered, close to her thrilled ear. "But I don't sup- 
 pose they told you that at school." 
 
 "No but ' She hesitated, checking the inclina- 
 tion to add that they knew it, all the same. "There 
 were several pretty girls there, you know " 
 
 "But not one like you, I'm sure !" he retorted quickly, 
 smiling as she flushed again. "But I must go now 
 I'll send a man with a deck chair and rugs, to fix you 
 up over there," he pointed to a sheltered corner as he 
 spoke, "for you won't have a chance of one pres- 
 ently. Or do you mean to go down instead?" 
 
 "Oh, no! I would rather stay here," she exclaimed. 
 "And you'll come back again, won't you? I won't 
 budge until you do." 
 
 For the moment she had forgotten to watch for the 
 very improbable sight of Keith and Hales. For Buck- 
 ell's evident admiration had turned her head, and the 
 thought of her beauty obsessed her entirely. 
 
 So she went over to the sheltered corner he had 
 pointed out, and allowed the sailor to tuck her up, her 
 eyes seeking the faces around for the look she now 
 knew so well. Seeking and longing for it ; to glow with 
 pleasure at its appearance, to feel cold and vexed at 
 its intolerable absence. 
 
 They were well out in the ocean before Buckell came 
 again. Zoe must have been asleep, for she was sur- 
 prised to see no land and to hear that they had lost 
 the last glimpse of it about two hours ago. 
 
 "No wonder I feel stiff," she said, smiling up at him. 
 "But I am sorry I didn't say good-by to France, for
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 33 
 
 I don't suppose I shall ever come back to this part of 
 it again. I don't want to, either. You needn't look 
 so surprised. I can't stay at school all my life." 
 
 ' ' Then you 're leaving for good ! " he exclaimed slowly. 
 "I wondered why you were going before the end of 
 the term " 
 
 "I'm going because my mother sent for me," said 
 Zoe quickly. 
 
 "And we're to lose the pleasure of wondering every 
 three months or so whether you'll travel on this boat 
 or another?" 
 
 "I don't believe you ever did," she smiled. 
 
 "Don't you? And yet at the beginning of the term 
 I have always looked out for you at the dock, and 
 at the end of the term I have watched for you here. 
 Didn't I see you now, long before you saw or thought 
 of me?" 
 
 "Ah, but you were not looking for me for you said 
 just now that it was not the end of the term!" 
 
 "Nevertheless, I saw and knew you at once, despite 
 all changes. What do you make of that? Doesn't it 
 prove that my thoughts had turned to you?" 
 
 Zoe laughed and looked pleased. An older, more ex- 
 perienced woman would have doubted the truth of his 
 assertions, but she was too ready to believe all she was 
 told concerning herself to doubt him for a moment. 
 She was changed enough for him to have passed her 
 without recognition at first, for they had not met for 
 months, her last two journeys having been on different 
 boats. Besides, his eyes hardly left her face, and there 
 was no denying that he seemed struck. 
 
 It was just this ready credulity of hers which helped 
 to make a lot of misery for her in after life. 
 
 "What do you say to going round the boat?" he 
 asked. "You used to like watching the engines, didn't 
 you?"
 
 34 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "I love it!" she cried, jumping up, her face aglow 
 with excitement. 
 
 She lurched a little towards him as she spoke, and 
 he took her arm to steady her. The color sprang to 
 her face at his touch. There was something almost 
 caressing in the grip of his fingers, and, for the mo- 
 ment, a sort of shyness crept over her. 
 
 Buckell smiled as he saw her confusion and he tight- 
 ened his hold and drew her closer to him. No one 
 seemed to notice their attitude, for other couples passed 
 them clinging to each other. There was a heavy swell 
 on, and one or two found it difficult to stand, let alone 
 walk, unassisted. 
 
 They passed the captain, who smiled indulgently 
 into the girl's face. She was in his charge, but it did 
 not occur to him to interfere with her escort, though 
 he would certainly have said something if Buckell had 
 been a passenger. The child was safe enough with the 
 second officer, who was always kind to the young girls, 
 no doubt because they recalled that rosy-cheeked daugh- 
 ter of his, for Buckell was a family man of some years' 
 standing, for all he looked so young. Yes, Miss Zoe 
 was safe enough with old Buckell, and looked well able 
 to take care of herself anyhow. 
 
 He did not realize that she was about as able to take 
 care of herself as a child in arms. For, whilst she had 
 been told that it was wrong to smile at strange men, 
 to enter into conversation with them, to seek their so- 
 ciety in any way, no one had attempted to explain why 
 no decent girl did such things, why men were to be 
 shunned and feared as though they were wild animals 
 forever on the prowl for prey. 
 
 She had been expelled because they thought her fast, 
 feared she might contaminate the other girls, but why 
 such conduct, as that attributed to her, was fast was 
 not enlarged upon.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 35 
 
 She was like a young soldier sent into the thick of 
 the battle without knowing how to use his arms, nor 
 the power they possessed. 
 
 And in that she was no different to thousands of 
 other girls, all confined within the narrow walls of mock 
 prudery, like sheep within a pen. Is it to be wondered 
 at if one strays from the flock? 
 
 Many a girl's guardians would be horrified to learn 
 that curiosity as to what happens if one does these 
 things no decent girl would do curiosity as to what 
 the wicked prowlers do to the prey they catch, occu- 
 pies most innocent hearts, to the exclusion of all else. 
 
 And it was just this curiosity which made Zoe smile 
 back into Buckell 's eyes and keep still when he squeezed 
 her arm. 
 
 As for Buckell, if he had given one thought to his 
 rosy-cheeked daughter just then, it is pretty certain that 
 Zoe would not have been hurried down to a less fre- 
 quented part of the boat and held closer to him as they 
 stumbled along. 
 
 But Zoe was far too happy to fear anything in this 
 unusual behavior on the part of one she had always 
 regarded as a big playfellow. Now she was no longer 
 a little schoolgirl, he would treat her differently; be- 
 sides, she liked the feel of his arm, and the look in his 
 eyes, growing darker and darker, roused her curiosity 
 still more. 
 
 Down near the engine room there was no one to watch 
 them as his hand slipped from her arm to her waist. 
 
 She colored, wondering why it felt so different than 
 when one of the girls held her in like fashion; then 
 held her breath and waited for him to do it again. 
 
 "You are a little witch," he whispered. "Has no 
 one told you that before ? ' ' 
 
 She hesitated, not quite sure that she liked his face 
 so close, yet afraid of vexing him by jerking hers away.
 
 36 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Yes I remember now," she faltered. "They called 
 me that at school once or twice " 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Who do you think?" she laughed, her eyes look- 
 ing mischievously into the fire in his, as he scanned her 
 face searchingly. 
 
 She was only a child he knew, but he seemed to 
 ask was she as guileless as she seemed? Did she know 
 the rules of the game she seemed inclined to play? If 
 so, well and good. If not he had no desire to coach 
 a beginner. 
 
 "Well?" said Zoe, reading the hesitation in his face 
 and fearing that he was going to get stiff and cross. 
 "If you won't guess, perhaps you would like me to tell 
 you. Don't you know that there are only women in 
 girls' schools and that the things they say are not 
 half important enough for one to remember them. It's 
 only when men say the very same words that they seem 
 to matter." 
 
 His hand stole caressingly, tentatively, round her 
 slim figure as they stood there, looking prosaically 
 enough at the huge machinery. 
 
 "How do you know that?" he asked. 
 
 "Because I do for instance, when you said it just 
 now it it- 
 She stopped nervously, a little thankful too, as an- 
 other couple came up and paused beside them. Buck- 
 ell drew her away. 
 
 "I've had enough of this, haven't you?" he said, 
 and his voice sounded thick and husky. "Let's go up 
 again. I shall have to leave you soon, anyhow." 
 
 Zoe, a little disappointed at his change of tone, and 
 still anxious to make the bast of her opportunities, ran 
 on in front of him, exclaiming: 
 
 "Oh, but you haven't told me what is in this end 
 of the steamer!"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 37 
 
 "There's nothing to show here." 
 
 "But all those doors, what do they lead to?" 
 
 The spot was quite deserted and rather dark. But 
 the brass handles on the doors, of which there seemed 
 several, shone brightly enough in the gloom. 
 
 ' ' If you want to know, they 're our cabins ; mine, the 
 other officers, and 
 
 "Do you have separate ones?" 
 
 "Some of us." 
 
 "Do you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 She clasped her hands appealingly. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Buckell, do let me see it I should love to 
 know w r hat a sailor's cabin is like." 
 
 For a second Buckell hesitated and his eyes, full of 
 inquiry, clung to the girl's. 
 
 "Don't say no and if it isn't allowed, there's no 
 one about," she pleaded. "Not even those people near 
 the engines will notice; they're much too busy with one 
 another. ' ' 
 
 She laughed as she nodded towards them, and Buck- 
 ell, glancing back in the same direction, saw that the 
 man had his arms round the girl and was whispering in 
 her ear. 
 
 Did the sight kindle the fire again in his blood, or 
 was Zoe's eager delight responsible for that? 
 
 At all events, he hesitated no longer, but led the way 
 to the second twinkling knob, which he turned hurriedly. 
 
 "Quick!" he murmured. 
 
 Zoe darted in before him like a flash of lightning, 
 her face quivering with excitement, her eyes dancing 
 with glee.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 IT would indeed have been difficult to swing the pro- 
 verbial cat round in Buckell's cabin, which was like 
 a tiny closet, with a bunk over a locker chest and no 
 room for a chair. 
 
 Zoe, standing in the narrow space between the wall 
 and the berth, looked back laughingly. 
 
 "How wee it is! It's smaller than my cubicle at 
 school. How can you manage to dress and undress, and 
 where do you keep your clothes?" 
 
 She turned her head from side to side like an in- 
 quisitive bird, noting the slab of polished wood under 
 the port-hole, which was evidently meant for a table; 
 the looking-glass on the wall, reflecting her flushed face ; 
 photographs over the berth; the hanging book-shelf; a 
 picture or two. 
 
 Buckell, standing against the door, his glowering eyes 
 on the girl, nodded to the locker. 
 
 "There's no wardrobe," he said. "That's why the 
 berth 's so high up. Quite a climb ! ' ' 
 
 "Isn't it! You ought not to grow stout with that 
 exercise every day. If you want to sit down to write 
 a letter, I suppose you sit there, too." 
 
 She jumped up lightly as she spoke and sat on the 
 edge of the berth, swinging her feet and smiling down 
 into his sullen face with its eager, burning eyes. 
 
 His sudden change of manner, his stiff attitude 
 against the door, arms crossed as though determined 
 to do or die, puzzled her. Was he vexed with her for 
 coming here? And yet, he had opened the door and 
 made her hurry in. 
 
 38
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 39 
 
 "Why do you look so cross?" she pouted. "And so 
 Napoleonic ? I never can understand why bad-tempered 
 men always copy the little Great Man. Are you afraid 
 the captain will be vexed with you? But I'll tell him 
 I made you show me your cabin; I'll tell him that I 
 came here of my own accord 
 
 "So you did," interposed Buckell, brusquely. "You 
 insisted remember that. ' ' 
 
 "Of course I did. Why shouldn't I? I wanted to 
 see what sort of place you had for your very own " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 He jerked out the word suddenly, unfolding his arms 
 and moving towards her. "Why?" he repeated, as 
 she stared back at him in amazement. 
 
 For he had changed again. The sullen look had 
 melted from his face, which reminded her suddenly of 
 Madame Delorme 's black cat Mimi about to spring upon 
 a sparrow. 
 
 Could he be mad? 
 
 She gazed back at him, pretty much as the terrified 
 bird looked up at Mimi, when crushed beneath his cruel 
 claw. 
 
 "Why?" she asked. "Oh, curiosity! That's all!" 
 
 "All, is it!" he exclaimed, coming closer. "Are you 
 sure? Do you think I'm going to believe that, you lit- 
 tle witch?" 
 
 Her heart seemed to stop, a giddiness whirled her 
 round. The simile of the spider and the fly followed 
 that of Mimi and the bird. His face was appallingly 
 close his eyes burned and burned his breath scorched. 
 
 "You are a witch!" he went on, in husky tones. "A 
 distracting little witch ! Nay, more, a temptress ! For 
 you know as well as I do why you came here ! ' ' 
 
 He snatched her to him as he spoke, lifting her down 
 into his arms, holding her suffocatingly close, his beard 
 covering her face, his lips seeking hers.
 
 40 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 She gave a little gasp and tried to push him from 
 her. 
 
 "Let me go!" she murmured. "I I can't breathe. 
 Let me go!" 
 
 "Not yet, you beauty," he laughed. "You came will- 
 ingly, remember. You asked for this, you know." 
 
 He crushed her to him again, his strong arms like 
 iron bands around her. 
 
 But instinct, the sole guardian of so many unguided 
 children, awoke. Danger was signaled from mind to 
 brain. Every nerve within her strained to the fight. 
 She became frantic, fighting desperately, wildly, blindly. 
 Her fingers clung to his beard, her teeth bit into his 
 hand. 
 
 With a muttered oath he flung her aside, glaring an- 
 grily at her. 
 
 "You little fool! What do you mean, then?" 
 
 "Let me out. I shall scream if you don't!" she 
 panted, as she leaned against the wall. 
 
 "Pull yourself together then you can't go like that! 
 I never meant to frighten you. I thought you wanted 
 me to kiss you. I only tried to kiss you, you know 
 and you make all this fuss, after leading me on as you 
 did. What are you going to say about it?" 
 
 There was a look of fear in his eyes now as they 
 scanned her quivering face. For he knew that this 
 might be a serious matter for him, if she blurted it 
 out to the captain or the stewardess or any pas- 
 senger who might be willing to lend an ear. A 
 broken career for five minutes' folly! What a fool he 
 was. 
 
 All this and more was in his face, and Zoe, little as 
 she understood the real danger that had threatened her, 
 read that. She was very angry with him, so angry that 
 she wondered she could ever have liked him with his 
 horrid hairy face and greedy eyes but all the same
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 41 
 
 she was not a sneak. If she had been, she would not 
 have been expelled. 
 
 "I sha'n't say anything," she faltered, "if you let 
 me go at once. Why should I? I didn't know you 
 wanted to do anything so silly as to kiss me and if you 
 had said so, I shouldn't have minded, perhaps." 
 
 Buckell eyed her narrowly as she spoke. Was that 
 an invitation for him to try again? 
 
 "We've both been silly," he said. "As for telling 
 you what I wanted, I thought you knew. You see, you 
 haven't got that face for nothing!" 
 
 He opened the door as he spoke, and she shot out, 
 half afraid of being seen, still doubtful enough of him 
 to fear his following and drawing her back, to take 
 the kiss she had not given. 
 
 She stumbled up the companion stairs and made for 
 the ladies' cabin. But it was at the other end of the 
 deck, which looked interminably long. For a second 
 she clung to the rail, her limbs trembling beneath her, 
 her body aching as though she had been beaten from 
 head to foot. She wondered vaguely how she was to 
 manage to walk all that distance alone, and whether any 
 of these people, lying so comfortably in their deck chairs 
 or stumbling along with shrieks of amused laughter, 
 would notice her plight and come to her assistance. 
 
 At the entrance to a deck cabin, a few steps off, stood 
 a woman of about thirty, with palpably dyed auburn 
 hair and a carefully made-up complexion under a thick 
 lace veil through which her dark eyes shone like stars. 
 She was tall and finely built and had the manner of one 
 who thought very highly of herself, and expected oth- 
 ers to do likewise. 
 
 Presently she turned her head and saw Zoe. The 
 next moment she was beside her. 
 
 "Oh, you poor little thing, how bad you look!" she 
 exclaimed. "Let me help you."
 
 42 
 
 Zoe seized the proffered arm with a muttered ' ' Thank 
 you," adding that she wanted to get to the ladies' 
 cabin, but had felt too giddy to attempt it. 
 
 "Why didn't you go down before?" asked the stran- 
 ger. "One always gets sea-sick when one gets cold." 
 
 "I'm not sea-sick," said Zoe indignantly. "I never 
 am." 
 
 The lady smiled as she led her to her own cabin. 
 
 "What else can you be?" she asked. "Anyway, 
 you're going to lie down on my berth, and I'll look after 
 you until you're well." 
 
 "Oh! but no I couldn't. It's not necessary " 
 stammered the girl. 
 
 But her new friend silenced her by leading her in, 
 and pushing her gently on to the made-up bed. 
 
 "It's too good of you I didn't expect anyone would 
 be so kind," faltered Zoe, her eyes following the other 
 as she moved across the dainty little cabin to open a 
 traveling bag and bring out a gold-topped flask. 
 
 "I should have thought everyone you met would want 
 to be kind to you," she laughed, as she came back to 
 Zoe, and handed her a small glass of brandy and wa- 
 ter. "Drink this, and you'll soon feel all right again." 
 
 "I'm all right now," smiled Zoe. "I only felt queer 
 for a moment, and the boat lurched so You see, I 
 have been down to the engines and it's awfully smelly 
 there" 
 
 "I know. The only time I was ill was after poking 
 about like that. That was during my first voyage, a 
 great many years ago. I must have been as young as 
 you are; is it your first, too?" 
 
 Zoe laughed. Her little fib about the engines hav- 
 ing upset her made her feel uncomfortable, and she 
 was glad of the opportunity of covering up her confu- 
 sion, as she explained hurriedly that she had been to 
 and fro twice a year, for nearly three years and a half.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 43 
 
 But this was her last journey on this route, thank good- 
 ness. She was going home for good. 
 
 "Where's that?" asked the other. 
 
 "Quite close to London, I'm glad to say." 
 
 "Why glad? London's a poor place compared with 
 some ! ' ' 
 
 "I don't think so! Though to be sure I haven't been 
 to many others. I love its bustle, its noise, its streets 
 and shops and theaters " 
 
 "Do you go to many theaters?" 
 
 "I mean to go to all. You see, my time will be my 
 own, more or less, so I shall be able to wait for the pit 
 or the gallery. It must be lovely to have seats you can 
 walk into, but we're too poor for that." 
 
 "Have you ever been to the Palace?" 
 
 "Never," exclaimed Zoe. "Not that I see any harm 
 in doing so," she added quickly, as the thought rushed 
 to her mind that perhaps this kind Samaritan was that 
 most wonderful thing of all an actress. One of Zoe's 
 many ambitions was to become an actress herself. 
 
 "Then, how would you like a couple of stalls there 
 one day next week?" 
 
 "How!" exclaimed Zoe, her heart flooded with de- 
 light. "I should love* them only it's impossible. I 
 mean, it's too much to expect." 
 
 "Not at all. You shall have them. Give me your 
 name and address and the tickets shall be sent. For 
 I am due to appear there on Monday " 
 
 Zoe's eyes were nearly starting out of her head 
 She no longer felt giddy, no longer feared Buckell, no 
 longer remembered her own beauty, which she felt was 
 nothing beside this wonderful woman's. 
 
 ' ' I am Madame Dardino, ' ' ended that personage, with 
 a little smile at Zoe's evident excitement. 
 
 Zoe had not the slightest idea who Madame Dardino 
 was. But she had the sense to keep that to herself,
 
 44 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 and burst out into a torrent of thanks which amused her 
 listener still more. 
 
 "Fancy all this for a mere performance!" she ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 "Ah! but, Madame, if you knew what it means to 
 me. I have always longed to see an actress face to 
 face, like this, and " 
 
 "I prefer being called a singer. Anyone can act 
 after a fashion, or make the public think so, but very 
 few can sing, as I do." 
 
 "Ah, but you can do both, which is still more won- 
 derful!" cried Zoe. 
 
 That was a stroke of genius on her part and had 
 the effect of making Madame expand like a full-blown 
 rose. She had reached fame through her own accom- 
 plishments, her own beauty, her own efforts, and her 
 audiences adored her. Even now she had been sing- 
 ing in Bordeaux, where the most wonderful reception 
 had been given her. In her own eyes, and in Zoe's for 
 the moment, there was no one to compare with Dardino. 
 
 Then, when she paused to refresh her memory, Zoe 
 timidly put forth her own desire to become an actress, 
 but Madame Dardino shook her head: 
 
 "Don't, child! Until you have 'arrived,' and thou- 
 sands never do so; it is one long struggle and fight for 
 a footing on a slippery, dangerous path. If you must 
 work, choose something else. Don't be attracted by the 
 glitter of the stage. For once you are, you become like 
 a child with a gaudy rattle. He wants it always, al- 
 ways; he cries for it if it is put aside." 
 
 "But, Madame, you have 'arrived'!" 
 
 "Ah, yes! //" The woman 's softer mood had gone ; 
 her vanity swamped everything. "But I am strong!" 
 
 Zoe, recalling the fight with Clotilde, the struggle 
 with Buckell, felt inclined to echo her words, though 
 of course she knew that the singer meant something
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 45 
 
 quite different to that. But w*hat good would that do? 
 This beautiful woman was wrapped up in her own af- 
 fairs; those of a mere schoolgirl could not interest her 
 at all. 
 
 She slipped to her feet and moved to the door. 
 
 "Thank you so much," she murmured. ''But I feel 
 quite all right now." 
 
 "Are you going?" asked Madame Dardino. "Well, 
 come and see me before we land. I should like your 
 address, and here is mine." 
 
 She handed a card to the girl as she spoke, and, open- 
 ing a tiny book hanging on her chatelaine, wrote down 
 the address Zoe gave. 
 
 " There," she smiled, "I shall look you up, some day 
 and you must come to see me." 
 
 "I should love to!" exclaimed Zoe. 
 
 "And you mustn't think me unkind for discourag- 
 ing your stage ideas. You are too pretty to run such 
 risks and " She stopped with a little laugh as a 
 man's figure appeared in the doorway. 
 
 He was tall and heavily built. His clear-cut face, 
 while full of a certain animalism, was kind and strong. 
 A heavy, dark mustache hid his mouth. 
 
 Zoe looked at him with sudden interest, which he 
 returned with a quizzical smile. 
 
 "Oh, then, you were not talking to yourself, Poppy?" 
 he exclaimed, in a deep voice. 
 
 Madame Dardino smiled. 
 
 "Certainly not. I have had a visitor, as you see. 
 She wants to go on the stage and I have said don't. 
 Am I right, Raymond?" 
 
 "As right as rain," he laughed. 
 
 "But," faltered Zoe, "if a girl has to earn her living, 
 and" 
 
 "Still I say don't unless everything else fails," he 
 exclaimed, turning to her hurriedly, whilst his eyes ran
 
 46 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 over her figure appraisingly. "Or unless you have 
 good friends to push you on." 
 
 The look of admiration in his eyes went to her brain 
 like wine. The singing in her heart began again. 
 
 "And if one hasn't?" she faltered. 
 
 "Well, then then I don't know what to say, except 
 that if everything else fails, come to Madame Dardino. 
 She has a good heart and she will help you for all she 
 says 'Don't' now." 
 
 He smiled again. And Zoe knew that he meant that 
 he would help as well, though he did not say so. She 
 little guessed how great a part he was going to play 
 in her life. 
 
 A gong sounded loudly from the dining saloon ; people 
 began to gather up their books and rugs. 
 
 They were all going to dinner, and she might as well 
 go too, and after there would be bed, and in the early 
 morning land would be sighted, the Thames entered, and 
 London, dear smoky London, reached at last. 
 
 Seated between two disagreeable women, she had am- 
 ple time for her thoughts, which naturally turned to 
 Buckell and all that had passed between them. She 
 felt sorry she had been so stupid. After all, he had 
 only wanted to kiss her. What else could he do? She 
 had been a goose to make such a fuss after all his kind- 
 ness. What must he think of her? 
 
 She looked down into her plate as she caressed the 
 memory of his touch, the feel of his fingers round her 
 waist. Of course he meant no harm. He was such a 
 big, strong man he could have killed her easily and yet 
 here she was safe and sound, and utterly lonely. 
 
 If she could see him for one moment, before turn- 
 ing in, she would tell him how sorry she was. So up 
 she went on deck to pause with a choking sensation of 
 shyness as she came upon him, standing with his back 
 to her, near the bridge.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 47 
 
 The trembling began again in her limbs and her cour- 
 age failed her somewhat. In fact, it is doubtful if she 
 would have spoken at all if he had not turned suddenly 
 and seen her. 
 
 He frowned a little and moved away. Zoe followed 
 meekly. 
 
 "Mr. Buckell?" she murmured. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "Are you very angry with me for being so silly?" 
 
 He turned and looked at her. She was very pale and 
 her eyes were full of pleading. 
 
 "No," he replied abruptly, "of course not. I thought 
 we had decided to say nothing more about the mat- 
 ter." 
 
 Assuredly his manner had changed towards her. He 
 was never going to be friendly again. She felt very 
 sorry she would have given anything to hear him laugh 
 and tease her anything to feel his hand round her 
 again. 
 
 A whistle blew then, and he started forward: 
 
 "Good night, Miss Zoe; sleep well, and forget. 
 That's what I mean to do for I was the worst, you 
 know being the oldest." 
 
 Later, Zoe understood, not only what she had escaped 
 but why he really avoided her then; understood that, 
 as men go, he was no worse and a great deal better 
 than most and that she, in her ignorance and folly, had 
 played with him as skillfully as many an older woman; 
 had tempted him perhaps more. Some of her first 
 blushes of shame were for her share in that episode. 
 
 She was awakened early by the bustle of feet over- 
 head. Land had been sighted, the mouth of the Thames 
 yawned before them, a river pilot had scrambled on deck. 
 Soon, very soon now, she would have left the steamer 
 and met her mother. For the first time since Madame 
 Delorme had said good-by she began to feel sorry for
 
 48 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 the manner of her return, to wonder anxiously what her 
 mother would say. 
 
 But if Mrs. Dereham had intended to scold there 
 was no sign of that in the smiling face she turned to 
 Zoe, as the passengers crowded off the steamer on 
 arrival.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 
 
 ZOE had not been home many hours when she re- 
 alized that the ordering of her life would not be 
 in her own hands after all, and that, whilst her mother 
 seemed to believe in her, she evidently still regarded 
 her as not to be trusted to do any of the delightful 
 things she had planned, such as running up and down 
 to London by herself, joining the theater queues, look- 
 ing at the shops. 
 
 Nor had Mrs. Dereham seemed as impressed as she 
 ought to have been, when Dardino, passing quickly with 
 Raymond Raynor, nodded a friendly good-by to the de- 
 lighted girl. 
 
 "Isn't she lovely, Mother!" she exclaimed, turning 
 to her mother, whose eyes were following the handsome 
 couple to their cab. "She's Madame Dardino a great 
 singer! And she's going to send us tickets for the 
 Palace, where she's going to appear. Isn't it sweet of 
 her?" 
 
 "Yes but " Mrs. Dereham faltered, stopped, and 
 turned the conversation deftly to the subject of Zoe's 
 luggage. 
 
 For how could she ruffle the child's innocence by hint- 
 ing that there were reasons why no nice girl could know 
 Dardino ? The feeling that no decent woman could talk 
 about such matters to her own offspring laid an em- 
 bargo on her tongue. 
 
 Zoe, however, scanned the still beautiful face with its 
 weary eyes, inquiringly. Was her mother jealous of 
 Dardino 's looks? Of her voice? How silly! If she 
 
 49
 
 50 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 were not so shocked about actresses and such like, she 
 might have been just as great as Dardino, instead of 
 teaching a lot of stupid people without a note of music 
 in them. And if she took a little more pride in her 
 appearance, she would look just as nice, nay, better 
 than Madame Dardino herself. It was horrid for a girl 
 to have to go about with a mother who looked like a 
 cook! 
 
 For Zoe, like many others, judged by externals, and 
 just because, to her eyes, her mother was dowdy, she 
 failed to see in her the look of race and breeding which 
 Madame Dardino lacked. 
 
 Had she realized that the faded beauty was due to 
 sorrow and hard work, the shabbiness to low funds, 
 there is no doubt that her warm young heart would have 
 been filled with self-reproach and she would have pouted 
 less over the news that she, herself, was to start work 
 at once. 
 
 For as they entered the little sitting-room wherein 
 breathed order, beauty and peace, although there were 
 no priceless bibelots, nor costly furniture to gratify the 
 eye, they found a note awaiting them. 
 
 Mrs. Dereham opened it quickly, then turned to Zoe, 
 
 "Do you remember Mrs. Broome-Taylor ? " 
 
 "Of course. She has a horrid little kid" 
 
 "Why horrid?" 
 
 "Oh, well, she is her teeth stick out like her moth- 
 er's, and she's so dreadfully spoilt 
 
 "I daresay people accuse me of spoiling you, dear, 
 and yet, here am I starting at once to make you work. 
 Mrs. Broome-Taylor wants someone to be with Fanny 
 all day, to teach and play with her." 
 
 "And you suggested me! Oh, Mother, how could 
 you?" 
 
 For the thought of teaching no longer appealed to
 
 THE LUEE OF THE 'FLAME 51 
 
 Zoe. It is doubtful whether she had ever considered 
 it seriously. It had merely seemed better than school, 
 spelling independence and freedom. Though it is pos- 
 sible that she would have taken to it more kindly if 
 her meeting with Madame Dardino had not roused her 
 latent craving for the stage. 
 
 For, in spite of the singer's lack of encouragement, 
 she felt more anxious than she had ever been to adopt 
 that life. You had only to look at her mother and Dar- 
 dino ; to observe their clothes; the gay, happy-go-lucky 
 manner of the one compared with the sad, tired look 
 of the other, to see what you ought to do. 
 
 When you were not a fright, when you could attract 
 the eyes of anyone you cared to attract, surely you need 
 not worry about your footing being unsteady on what 
 Madame Dardino was pleased to call a dangerous, slip- 
 pery path. 
 
 But it was no use saying anything; telling that you 
 were the best actress in the school; that your voice was 
 the sweetest. It would only upset this anxious little 
 mother who would never agree that actresses were as 
 respectable as governesses and had not to work so 
 hard. 
 
 All this rushed through Zoe's rebellious heart, rous- 
 ing her indignation against Mrs. Broome-Taylor and 
 her kind. That they should be able to command her 
 services like this! 
 
 A month ago she would have laughed at the idea, 
 tossed her head, exclaiming that even if she had to do 
 something there was no hurry, and she could at all 
 events pick and choose her pupils and decide what time 
 she gave them. 
 
 She felt so angry that she hardly realized that her 
 mother had been speaking kindly, explaining that it 
 was impossible to refuse such a good offer, and that 
 after all it would be easy work.
 
 62 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 1 'But I was not to start until after the holidays," 
 she faltered. "And they don't begin for weeks! And 
 I hate the Broome-Taylors, with their horrid teeth 
 which make them look like rabbits and things being ar- 
 ranged so suddenly, when I wanted a week or two to 
 myself. And people will guess why I am at home, 
 whereas if I didn't start working so soon they might 
 believe I had been ill. I'm sure you don't want them 
 to know I was expelled and " 
 
 ' ' Dear child, there is no reason why they should ! 
 It is simply that I can't afford to refuse any work for 
 you, now you are at home." 
 
 "One would think we were paupers!" retorted Zoe 
 sullenly. 
 
 Something in the eyes that met hers made her feel 
 ashamed. 
 
 "And so we are, dear," said Mrs. Dereham quietly. 
 "Hitherto I have kept all cares and worries from you, 
 but we are so poor that if I gave up work for a week 
 or two, we should be absolutely penniless." 
 
 "Oh, Mother, it can't be true!" exclaimed the girl, 
 with a sudden feeling of despair, as her heart impul- 
 sive, passionate stirred beneath her anger and her 
 selfishness. Paupers ! 
 
 "It can't be true ' she repeated dully. "My fa- 
 ther left us something when he died, didn't he? Not 
 much I know, or else you wouldn't have to teach but 
 something. ' ' 
 
 "No nothing," said Mrs. Dereham evasively. 
 
 "Nothing!" cried Zoe, horrified. 
 
 "We depend entirely on what I earn," went on her 
 mother, gently, grieved at having to undeceive her. 
 "We have no prospects, no rich men's shoes to wait 
 for nothing but our own efforts to keep ourselves re- 
 spectably. I had not meant to tell you yet, but 
 
 "You ought to have told me!" sobbed Zoe. "It was
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 53 
 
 cruel not to. I so often thought you stingy! And all 
 the time you were slaving for me going without things 
 yourself. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, no, it wasn't so bad as that, Zoe! And there's 
 a certain pleasure in going without things for another's 
 sake. We learn then how little we really want, which 
 is good. And people, here, are so kind." 
 
 "But my schooling my clothes my " Zoe 
 stopped, reddening with shame as her bright eyes ran 
 over her mother's shabby gown. "I never go without 
 a thing!" she ended brokenly. 
 
 "Nor do I," smiled Mrs. Dereham. 
 
 "You sha'n't, now ever!" cried Zoe, throwing her 
 arms round her neck. "I will, if anyone must. And 
 I'll work as soon and as much as you like! I'm 
 strong ! ' ' 
 
 She thought of Madame Dardino as she said that; 
 tried to draw herself up in the same way, to impress 
 as she had been impressed. 
 
 Yes. She was strong. And beautiful! Ah! how 
 thankful she was for that. For of course, with a face 
 like hers, she would not have to go on teaching Fanny 
 Broome-Taylor for years and years. Somebody would 
 seek her out. Roy Keith perhaps. Or somebody equally 
 charming and delightful, though could any other man 
 be that? 
 
 This softer mood of hers lasted for several days. She 
 overflowed with generosity towards her mother and tried 
 to make the best of Fanny with whom she started the 
 next day. 
 
 She found her a detestable child, though a little too 
 shy at first to show herself in her true colors. 
 
 And Mrs. Broome-Taylor was very kind, although she 
 was so anxious about her offspring that either she, or 
 her mother, who lived with them, assisted at all the 
 lessons. Zoe felt herself therefore under constant es-
 
 54 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 pionage and never had Fanny to herself except during 
 their daily walk or the hour's recreation before tea. 
 
 Couldn't they trust her? "Were they afraid she 
 would ill-treat the little wretch, she asked her mother 
 at last. 
 
 Mrs. Dereham smiled sympathetically as she said that 
 they were no doubt afraid Fanny might be naughty if 
 left alone with one who was little more than a child 
 herself. For of course they did not realize that chil- 
 dren are always more troublesome when their own peo- 
 ple are about. Even she had to submit to the same 
 treatment sometimes. 
 
 "And you put up with it?" asked Zoe. 
 
 "Of course. What else can I do? It is such a lit- 
 tle thing, after all, and beggars can't be choosers my 
 child!" 
 
 Meanwhile Madame Dardino kept her promise and 
 sent the tickets for a Saturday matinee, and Mrs. Dere- 
 ham consented to take her, though secretly Zoe wished 
 she would stay at home. For, although she loved her 
 dearly, she still felt ashamed of her shabbiness and 
 thought her too particular about her behavior out-of- 
 doors. 
 
 Why mustn't you look about you freely? Why must 
 you avoid a strange man's eyes and look as though you 
 were the only person in the world? Especially when 
 there was no reason for doing so. Rude! Why is it 
 rude to glance casually at a man, who is perhaps star- 
 ing you out of countenance, when it isn't rude to look 
 at a woman? 
 
 Really Mother was as silly as old Delorme! Men 
 were nicer to look at than women ; pleasanter, more in- 
 clined to be friendly and make room for you in an over- 
 crowded vehicle. Women dissected you from head to 
 foot with gimlet eyes and scornful lip. You knew that 
 they knew your gloves were shabby, your dress cheap,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 55 
 
 the pretty bow upon your hat home-made. And you 
 hated women whom you had found jealous and mean. 
 You trusted none but your mother, of course, and 
 Madame Dardino. 
 
 But if these thoughts occupied Zoe's mind on her 
 way to the theater she soon forgot them as she gave 
 herself up to the enjoyment of their luxurious seats. 
 She even felt a little pity for the girls she had seen 
 standing outside, or for those who had to go away with- 
 out a seat. 
 
 She sat enraptured throughout Dardino 's turn. She 
 thought her more beautiful than ever. She loved her 
 voice, her smile, her glowing eyes. True, she felt a 
 strange thrill of was it disillusion? when in the 
 middle of the clever little operette Dardino flung her 
 cloak aside and revealed herself in tights. 
 
 But when Mrs. Dereham commented on the pity of 
 such a performance when Dardino 's voice was great 
 enough to please any audience without lowering herself 
 to that degree, Zoe defended her friend loyally. 
 
 Why shouldn't she show her lovely figure? Surely 
 there was nothing lowering in that ? 
 
 She was speaking hurriedly, her face flushed, when 
 someone touched her lightly on the shoulder. It was 
 Eaymond Raynor. 
 
 "Madame Dardino would like to see you, now if you 
 don't mind missing a turn or two," he smiled. 
 
 "Mind! Of course not. This is Mr. Raymond, 
 Mother. Please may I go with him?" 
 
 Mrs. Dereham bowed to the smiling man and looked 
 hesitatingly at Zoe. 
 
 "We won't keep her long," said Raynor, persua- 
 sively. "I'll bring her back myself." 
 
 Mrs. Dereham could hardly refuse without being 
 offensive. So she assented with a warning glance at Zoe, 
 and watched her thread her way through the crowd
 
 56 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 assembling in the gangway for a famous dancer's turn, 
 until she disappeared out of sight. 
 
 Then she wished she had had the courage to refuse. 
 For there were strange rumors about the singer. Her 
 husband, Dardino, was a well known tenor who had run 
 away to America with a French actress. Madame 
 Dardino, herself, could boast of similar escapades no 
 doubt Raymond Raynor was her latest conquest. He 
 was certainly handsome and appeared rich. There was 
 a look in his face she did not like. His eyes had said 
 boldly enough what he thought of Zoe. Oh, why had 
 she let her go ! 
 
 Meanwhile Zoe followed Raynor behind the stage. 
 Her eyes drank in the scene with avidity. She looked 
 inquiringly at the people standing about. What was 
 paltry and sordid the dreary corridors the tawdry 
 scenery the miserable faces above the brave attire 
 escaped her entirely. For the glamour of the stage as 
 seen from the front had followed her here, behind. And 
 she was going to see Dardino ! 
 
 The singer was lying on a low couch, her arms flung 
 above her head, her eyes closed. 
 
 But as Zoe entered she sprang up and embraced her 
 effusively. 
 
 "You dear child!" she exclaimed. "So you have 
 heard me at last! Tell me what do you think?" 
 
 Seen close to Dardino in tights was not half so nice 
 as Dardino on the steamer. Somehow Zoe felt hot and 
 uncomfortable as she kept her eyes to the smiling face. 
 She was glad her mother had stayed away, for she 
 would have been more shocked than ever. 
 
 "I thought you were ripping!" she stammered. "I 
 had no idea you were so wonderful!" 
 
 Raynor, who had dropped into a chair, laughed. 
 Dardino looked as pleased as Punch. 
 
 "Listen to this, Bugle," she exclaimed, turning to
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 57 
 
 a woman who was preparing tea at a small tea table. 
 "This young lady has never seen me before. Nor even 
 heard of me, until last week!" 
 
 The woman turned. Beyond the fact that she was 
 clean and respectable, there was nothing about her to 
 arrest attention. 
 
 "My!" she ejaculated, in a queer husky voice. "Do 
 you really mean it, Miss? Not heard of La Dardino! 
 The one and only! The greatest artiste in " 
 
 "Stow that, Bugle," snapped Dardino, frowning 
 angrily. 
 
 "Well, it's true isn't it?" 
 
 "That's no reason for repeating it. I tell you, it's 
 quite refreshing to find someone who had never heard 
 of me for once." 
 
 "I'm sorry," stammered Zoe. "But you see I was 
 at school and we never heard of anyone but stodgy old 
 preachers. And we never went anywhere except to lec- 
 tures and prayer-meetings." 
 
 "No wonder you're stage-struck," said Dardino, 
 "though I daresay you've changed your mind since 
 we met." 
 
 "No, I haven't!" exclaimed Zoe. "I long for it 
 more than ever. So would you if you had to teach a 
 stupid little girl who looks like a rabbit and fights like 
 a wildcat when she can't get her own way and who 
 has a mother who spies on you and an old grandmother 
 who" 
 
 "Even then," interrupted Dardino, with a yawn, "I 
 should prefer it to the stage if I were you!" 
 
 "Oh! but you" 
 
 "As I told you before, you mustn't judge of the life 
 by what you know about me. I'm a success. But look 
 at Bugle, there she's a failure!" 
 
 "Bugle!" ejaculated Zoe incredulously. 
 
 "Yes, Bugle. She was a great favorite at the Lane;
 
 58 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 weren't you, Bugle? She had heaps of money, heaps 
 of success and yet- look at her now ! No looks, no fig- 
 ure, nothing! She might just as well be dead for all 
 the pleasure she gets out of life." 
 
 Zoe was shocked at Dardino's seeming brutality and 
 glanced at Bugle to see how she was taking it. But, 
 beyond a slight flush spreading from neck to brow, 
 Bugle showed no sign of having heard anything un- 
 usual. 
 
 "It's true," she exclaimed; "I was even greater 
 than Madame Dardino then! I daresay you don't be- 
 lieve me but, although I wasn't a beauty, I had other 
 things. But beauty isn't enough, nor brains, nor any- 
 thing unless " 
 
 She paused, her eyes scanning Zoe's eager face. 
 
 "Well," she resumed, "if I hadn't been what some 
 would call a fool, I shouldn't have come down to this. 
 Precious few can keep straight on the stage and remain 
 successful. I couldn't for one. It was either success 
 and the broad way or failure and the narrow one. I 
 chose that." 
 
 "Never mind, they say it leads to heaven," laughed 
 Dardino, "even if you starve meanwhile." 
 
 "Mind! I don't mind! I'm an honest woman when 
 all's said and done, and that's more than some can say," 
 retorted Bugle meaningly. 
 
 "It's time Miss Zoe came back to her lonely parent," 
 interposed Raynor, smiling into the girl's puzzled face. 
 
 For, in spite of Dardino's smiling indifference, she 
 was quick enough to see that there was more between 
 her and Bugle than met the eye. 
 
 What was it? Had Madame Dardino told Bugle to 
 run down the stage? Or did Bugle really mean what 
 she said? Anyhow, she did not believe that the plain 
 little woman could ever have been as great as La 
 Dardino.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 59 
 
 SHe turned to the actress with a smile. 
 
 "Thank you so much for letting me come," she said. 
 "And for the tickets. It has been jolly! We have 
 both enjoyed it." 
 
 "That's right. You must come again. But mind 
 you put all that silly nonsense about acting out of that 
 pretty little head," replied Dardino, kissing her. 
 "You're much better off as you are. Just you think 
 of poor old Bugle, and take warning in tune."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A LTHOUGH Zoe would rather have died than tell 
 JTTL her mother, her infatuation for Dardino had 
 lessened considerably during her brief visit to the dress- 
 ing-room. Something in the singer's manner, in the 
 way she spoke of Bugle, who had called herself an hon- 
 est woman with an air! as though it was the rarest 
 thing in the world something at any rate had hap- 
 pened to open Hhe girl's eyes. 
 
 She felt horribly disappointed, as impulsive people 
 are apt to do on discovering the clay clinging to their 
 idol's feet, though as she turned the conversation over 
 in her mind, vanity whispered that Dardino was jealous 
 of her looks, her youth. She recalled many stories she 
 had read of beautiful damsels thwarted in their strug- 
 gle for fame and success by handsome sirens of uncer- 
 tain age. Yes that was why Dardino had spoken so 
 strangely, why Bugle had chimed in. What a silly girl 
 she was not to have guessed at once that Dardino 
 wanted all the limelight both on and off the stage. Xo 
 one else must shine where she was. No one else must 
 be noticed at all. There was no doubt of that, if you 
 recalled Raynor's manner in the singer's presence 
 and away from it! 
 
 Not that he had done anything approaching Buck- 
 ell's behavior, though he reminded her of it by taking 
 her arm as he led her along the corridor. 
 
 The color flew to her face and she wondered breath- 
 lessly if he would try to kiss her and if she would 
 feel as she had felt when Buckell tried to do the same. 
 But he looked cleaner than Buckell with his pink and 
 
 60
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 61 
 
 white skin, his hairless face. His lips were very red, 
 his teeth white and strong, the very smell of him 
 was nice. 
 
 Her heart beat so that she could hardly hear what 
 he was saying. Her every nerve was on the alert. She 
 did not know whether to feel afraid or pleased. 
 
 But as they reached the door leading into the theater 
 he dropped her arm and smiled into her face, exclaim- 
 ing: 
 
 "Here you are! See, there's your mother looking 
 this way. Good-by, until we meet again." 
 
 "I don't know when that will be," she stammered, 
 feeling as though he had repulsed her, and not liking 
 to meet his eyes. 
 
 "Oh, very soon, of course. Ill see that Madame re- 
 members you! Besides, she told you to come again." 
 
 "Yes, bu1^" 
 
 "And if you don't she'll look you up, never fear," 
 he added kindly. 
 
 He stood still until she had reached her seat, and 
 then, flashing a brilliant smile at her, turned back. 
 
 She pictured him hurrying along the corridor to 
 Dardino and the dressing-room. And, feeling suddenly 
 annoyed, answered her mother sullenly. Of course 
 Madame Dardino was pleased to see her. She looked 
 lovely in her stage costume. It was horrid of people 
 to be shocked by it. And Mr. Raynor had been there 
 all the time. Why not? He was Madame 's friend. 
 Surely there was no harm in preferring him to a 
 woman who might be jealous and quarrelsome. Yes, 
 there was a dresser but of course you could not make 
 a friend of a person of that kind. She looked like a 
 charwoman, was one perhaps. A great actress needed 
 a protector someone to keep people from bothering 
 her. 
 
 Here was one of the many opportunities of opening
 
 62 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Zoe's eyes to the ways of the wicked world around. 
 But Mrs. Dereham shirked it as she shirked them all. 
 Possibly Zoe was not in a receptive mood, but the first 
 step towards dispelling her ignorance might easily have 
 been taken in which case this story might never have 
 been written. 
 
 But when you consider that your daughter's inno- 
 cence is her most charming asset, it is hardly likely you 
 are going to risk destroying it, no matter what your 
 own experiences have been. They merely serve to help 
 you to avert all danger from her path; to know, and 
 watch for ominous signs. And as for these things that 
 happen to other girls less fortunate in their upbringing 
 in an ever-vigilant guardian they cannot possibly 
 happen to your one ewe lamb. So why shock her 
 unnecessarily? Why fill her mind with polluting 
 thoughts ? 
 
 Therefore, Mrs. Dereham tried to steer the conversa- 
 tion into safer channels, but Zoe, stung by her evident 
 disapproval, exclaimed : 
 
 "And what does it matter to anyone if Madame Dar- 
 dino is always with Mr. Raynor. I shall have a man 
 for my friend when I'm grown up. For you can trust 
 men when you " 
 
 "Not always. Human nature is the same in both 
 sexes, my child." 
 
 "I don't care. Men are much nicer than women, 
 and it's no good saying they're not. I got to know 
 women at school, and I shall never change my mind 
 about them. Not even if I stick to teaching all my 
 life and have no one else to mix with for governesses 
 always seem to hang together; that's why they're so 
 dull and so proper and so dowdy. Oh! I hate the 
 thought of turning into that kind of creature. But I 
 won't, if I can help it." 
 
 "I sincerely hope you won't!"
 
 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 63 
 
 "I 'don't see how I'm to help it if I have to lead 
 such a deadly life. One would think you love it, the 
 way you speak. And yet you grind and slave, and 
 have only stodgy women for friends and " 
 
 "There are worse things than that!" smiled Mrs. 
 Dereham. 
 
 "I daresay. But there are better ones, too. Such as 
 acting for one. Why can't I be an actress?" 
 
 There! It was out at last, though she had meant 
 to keep it back had purposely avoided telling about 
 Bugle's past, which would certainly make her mother 
 less willing than ever to listen to her suggestion had 
 meant to say nothing at all either for or against the 
 stage until she had given Fanny Broome-Taylor a fair 
 trial. 
 
 Her heart smote her as she met her mother's pained 
 eyes. It so often did when she said something not quite 
 proper in a governess. But why should it? Why 
 should her mother have the power to make her feel 
 ashamed when she had said nothing really terrible? 
 
 "Why can't I?" she repeated, anger against her own 
 impotence surging up in her. "It would be quite easy, 
 now I know someone who could help me. I can sing 
 and dance. And I'm not a fright, like some of the 
 girls we've seen to-day am I?" 
 
 They were sitting at a marble-topped table in a pop- 
 ular tea-shop. Every seat was occupied. Close by a cou- 
 ple of dissipated youths were discussing a programme, 
 their eyes stealing from it to Zoe. Even in her anger 
 she was aware of their unfeigned admiration and en- 
 couraged by it. No! She was not a fright! 
 
 Their whispers "Yes, she's awfully like her, I 
 thought it was" "only prettier, fresher, altogether" 
 "I wonder who she is" reached her ears and made her 
 sit up with a feeling of exultation. They were compar- 
 ing her with a musical comedy star!
 
 64 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 She glanced eagerly at her mother. If she heard 
 she would see how easy it would be to win fame as an 
 actress. But the look of disapproval was still there 
 and the low reply, that Zoe was certainly not a fright, 
 conveyed no assent. 
 
 "Yet you prefer to tie me to a life I hate," mut- 
 tered the girl, crumbling her cake to pieces and pouting 
 childishly. 
 
 "I prefer to keep you with me, baby. Some day 
 you will thank me for it. Thank me for not mak- 
 ing an actress of you. All is not gold that glitters, 
 darling ! ' ' 
 
 "I hate those stupid proverbs. And if you think I'm 
 going to turn into a walking copybook like yourself, 
 you're mistaken. I'll run away, first." 
 
 Mrs. Dereham colored painfully. She was still 
 young enough to resent the insult, and to enter into 
 Zoe's rebellious feelings. But she lacked the power of 
 showing that. Years of loneliness and repression had 
 built up a high wall of reserve between her and the 
 world. And, although she longed to pull it down, she 
 had no idea where to start. 
 
 "Do I really sound as bad as that!" she smiled. 
 "Then it's a good thing you came home to keep me 
 in order. You may not believe me, but I, too, have 
 an horror of becoming ' governessy, ' as you call it. So 
 we must watch each other closely, for any signs of the 
 disease. Now how shall we go back? It's fine enough 
 for a ridp on the top of the 'bus, don't you think?" 
 
 She led the way out as she spoke. Zoe followed re- 
 luctantly, conscious of the glances of many, over and 
 above all of those of the two men whose loud whispers 
 had been for her benefit. Nor could she help looking 
 back to see if they were still watching her. 
 
 The incident did not escape Mrs. Dereham any more 
 than the whispering had. In fact, it was that which
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 65 
 
 made her rise so hurriedly and leave the shop. For 
 Zoe's eager look in search of admiration, her evident 
 delight on finding it, her many little ways of attracting 
 it, appalled her. So also did the amount of attention 
 she received. What if the child were to resemble her 
 father in his love of excitement, his disregard of duty 
 and custom? 
 
 She knew Zoe was vain, somewhat selfish, and head- 
 long. But she had had no idea that these faults 
 swamped her better self to such an extent, nor that 
 she, by her foolish indulgence and self-effacement, had 
 encouraged them in every way. 
 
 And instead of appealing to the girl's intelligence 
 and better feelings by opening her own heart and re- 
 vealing all she had withheld the truth about the 
 father who was still alive although Zoe thought him 
 dead, her reasons for refusing to let her become an 
 actress, the dangers around she shut it up more closely 
 than ever and decided to keep Zoe even more beneath 
 her wing. 
 
 Thus in her desire to do her best for the girl she now 
 did her worst, and both returned home in anything but 
 a happy mood. 
 
 They had reached the end of their journey, and were 
 turning into the street where they lived, when they 
 came face to face with a bright-eyed little lady. 
 
 "Ah, Mrs. Dereham, how are you?" she exclaimed, 
 with a slightly broken accent. "And Zoe! Then it is 
 true that you are back! I would not believe it. I 
 said it was too soon. Christmas is not yet." 
 
 "I I wasn't well," said Zoe. "And anyhow I was 
 leaving for good at Christmas. And it was more con- 
 venient for me to come now, so I came, you see." 
 
 "Yes, I see," nodded Madame Lefont. "And you 
 have left for good! You are grown up. Yes, I see 
 the hair is no longer down it suits you like that.
 
 And what does this being at home mean? Are we go- 
 ing to be rivals in teaching French, you and me? Or 
 have you found something better to do, something that 
 will not take the color out of those cheeks, the life out 
 of those eyes?" 
 
 "I'm teaching Fanny Broome-Taylor, " said Zoe, with 
 a grimace. 
 
 "Your eyes are lively enough, Madame," interjected 
 Mrs. Dereham quickly. "And you have been teaching 
 for years! Zoe hasn't enough work to take away her 
 color, or " 
 
 "How do you know that?" demanded the French- 
 woman. "Fanny Broome-Taylor is a leetle devil. She 
 wears out everyone. As for me teaching all those 
 years I had my youth first. And I was not preety like 
 Zoe." 
 
 "Oh, Madame!" deprecated Zoe, her face bright- 
 ening. 
 
 "It's true. I was never preety like you, my shild. 
 A governess must not be too preety, you know. If she 
 is, she gets no work. Or if she gets work, it is with 
 leetle devils like Fanny who have no brothers, no 
 fathers perhaps " 
 
 She nodded meaningly, her bright eyes darting from 
 Zoe to Mrs. Dereham, who listened with an angry flush 
 on her face. 
 
 "Mother has always heaps to do," began Zoe 
 loyally. 
 
 "Yes," retorted Madame, "but she is not a young 
 girl like you. Bah! It is weecked to make her teach 
 with that face," she added, turning to Mrs. Dereham. 
 "That's true, you know!" 
 
 "There's nothing else she can do," faltered Mrs. 
 Dereham, who had always said Madame Lefont was too 
 frivolous for a governess. 
 
 "Nothing! La, la! Many things surely!"
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 67 
 
 "I want to be an actress," exclaimed Zoe, delighted 
 to have found a champion. 
 
 "Ah! Why not? There is no harm in that. There 
 are great and good women who are actresses. And 
 there are bad, too. So there are in everything." 
 
 "Mother won't hear of it that's why? But at 
 Sainte Croix they said I should make a good one, and 
 now I know Madame Dardino " 
 
 "La Dardino! You know her?" 
 
 "We have just been to see her act! She's lovely 
 and" 
 
 "You know Dardino!" repeated Madame, turning 
 in astonishment to Mrs. Dereham. "Ah, well, then I 
 know, Zoe, why your mother says she does not want 
 you to be an actress. She would not like you to be 
 like Dardino and I'm not surprised!" 
 
 "If only I were half as good, it would be much bet- 
 ter for us both!" retorted the girl, fiercely, reading 
 more of the governessy look in the Frenchwoman's face 
 than she had ever seen there before. 
 
 "Worse worse. God has not given you the gift 
 of beauty for you to make of it a curse," replied 
 the Frenchwoman, using the same words almost 
 as Monsieur Roland had spoken in the punish- 
 ment room. "Through it, however, you have the power 
 of" 
 
 "I know," interrupted Zoe, "of becoming a very 
 good or a very wicked woman. It's been said to me 
 before. And I answered that I would rather be wicked, 
 if being good means being dull and stodgy. I mean it, 
 too!" 
 
 "Oh, I believe you! But I hope you won't, for your 
 mother's sake. But I must say good-by. I have a les- 
 son to give." 
 
 Madame turned away with a smile, and Mrs. Dere- 
 ham and Zoe resumed their walk.
 
 68 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 "I wish you wouldn't say such wild things, Zoe," 
 said her mother after a slight pause, during which she 
 had evidently wondered whether to speak or not. 
 
 "Well, why do people say such things to me? Why 
 should I have more power for good and evil than others ? 
 Why must I be preached at, about my face which I 
 can't help" 
 
 "I'm sure you needn't want to. It's a sweet little 
 face when you're good." 
 
 "There you are! Good. I hate the word. And 
 why should Madame Dardino put you off my ever act- 
 ing? She looked lovely in her tights and I'd give 
 anything to wear them, too. It's only because they're 
 jealous of her figure, and " 
 
 "Oh, Zoe, my dear." 
 
 '"It's true, you know it is! I shouldn't think any 
 the less of you if you walked about in tights and 
 I won't have people run her down, when she's been 
 so kind to me." 
 
 "Dear. You don't understand. Some people are 
 not nice to have as friends " 
 
 "I'm not going to give up Madame Dardino, no mat- 
 ter what you say," retorted Zoe as they entered the 
 house. And, although she longed for the conversation 
 to go on, so that she might find out what these horrid 
 grown-ups really meant, so that she might again bring 
 up the subject of her acting and succeed in talking her 
 mother over, she felt unable to continue it in the face 
 of her mother's evident disapproval and reluctance to 
 reply. 
 
 "I'm a beast," she told herself, when after an early 
 supper she went to bed, turning the key in her door 
 with a feeling of relief. "I forget all Mother has done 
 for me. But I don't, I don't! It's she who forgets 
 I'm only a girl, and that I hate teaching, and that 
 it's horribly dull here!"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 69' 
 
 She brushed the tears from her eyes and turned to 
 her mirror. 
 
 What had Madame Lefont said? 
 
 "God has given you the gift " No, no, not those 
 tiresome words! "It is weecked to let her teach with 
 a face like that!" 
 
 She turned the lights up and lit a couple of candles, 
 which she stood on the dressing-table. Then she bent 
 eagerly to her reflection. 
 
 "It is weecked to let her teach with a face like 
 that!" Why? She looked hard. 
 
 The face that looked back at her was very young, 
 and very pathetic, and very charming. It was a lovely 
 little face, like a rain-swept flower, eyes gazing stead- 
 ily through long-curved lashes, lips pouting for a kiss, 
 hair gleaming gold beneath the light. 
 
 She drew a deep breath and smiled. 
 
 The change was magical. It was as though the sun 
 had entered the mirror. Her eyes danced, her lips 
 shone. 
 
 Yes. She was very pretty. More lovely! 
 
 Even her mother had acknowledged it. Grudgingly 
 of course, for fear it would make her vain. As if be- 
 ing told a thing you knew so well, could do anything 
 of the kind! 
 
 She was as pretty as Dardino. But would she look 
 as nice in tights at a distance? Nicer, close to? She 
 recalled the uncomfortable feeling she had had when 
 brought face to face with the actress in the dressing- 
 room. 
 
 She tilted the mirror until it reflected her entirely. 
 Then she began to undress, watching her every move- 
 ment, wondering all the time. 
 
 She looked very slim in her old combinations, which 
 were too short and too small. But for all that they 
 were quite as proper as Dardino 's tights.
 
 70 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Did she look as nice as Dardino, close to? 
 
 A thousand times nicer, smiled her eyes. 
 
 She was much slimmer longer limbed. Her skin 
 was as white as snow, her hair rippling in waves below 
 her waist, enveloped her like a cloud. She was a fairy 
 borne on the summer wind, a nymph dancing in the 
 moonlight. 
 
 "What a shame she could not be an actress. That 
 not one of those who so admired her face could see how 
 beautiful her body was. 
 
 At that moment someone knocked at the door, and, 
 shivering back from her reflection, she seized her night- 
 gown and threw herself upon the bed. 
 
 Shame she had not felt before surged over her in 
 scorching waves as her mother called out: 
 
 "Zoe, what are you doing?" 
 
 It was no good pretending to be asleep. She had 
 probably made a noise, shaken the room, betrayed her- 
 self by the light peeping under the door. But she would 
 not let her in. For how could she explain the tilted 
 mirror, the illumination of candles? 
 
 " Nothing, Mother, why?" she answered quickly. 
 
 "I have just come back from the pillar box. And as 
 I came up the road I could see you plainly reflected on 
 your blind. You should be more careful of the posi- 
 tion of your candles when you use them. Others may 
 see you may have done so, before. It isn't nice nor 
 really decent." 
 
 Zoe's cheeks were burning like fire. She pictured a 
 group of watchers on the opposite pavement, at the 
 many windows, up the street. 
 
 "I was only undressing," she stammered. "There's 
 nothing terrible in that, is there? Everybody else does 
 the same." 
 
 "Well, don't do it again with a lighted candle behind 
 you, that's all. Good night," laughed Mrs. Dereham,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 71 
 
 as she turned to her own room, whilst Zoe, listening to 
 make sure that she had gone, seemed to hear in the tick 
 of the clock outside: 
 
 "Others may see you may have done so before." 
 
 She slipped to her feet and stood regarding her re- 
 flection, her eyes wide with wondering. 
 
 "Others may see you." 
 
 "Well, Dardino did not mind that and wasn't it what 
 you wanted yourself? Why should you feel ashamed 
 of your own self unless you were ugly, and fat, and 
 unshapely? Why did this gentle loving mother always 
 make you feel suddenly afraid, shocked almost, cer- 
 tainly ashamed of what you had said or done? All the 
 same, how nice you looked when you danced just now ! 
 
 Long after Zoe had fallen asleep to dream of herself 
 tripping the boards in shrunken tights, with Keith and 
 Hales and Buckell applauding her, whilst Dardino 
 looked on disapprovingly with Madame Lefont, both 
 unconscious of Raynor's admiring gaze as he ogled her 
 from behind, Mrs. Dereham was awake, wondering how 
 she was going to wean Zoe from Dardino 's spell and the 
 lure of London. 
 
 And in her distress she decided suddenly on another 
 foolish move. This was to take her difficulties to the 
 Vicar, as she had been wont to do, more or less, since 
 her first coming to the town. For, although he was 
 wise enough in most matters, he was no more able to 
 understand Mrs. Dereham 's present trouble than she 
 was herself, and agreed that it would certainly be bet- 
 ter to keep Zoe entirely out of temptation by acting as 
 Mrs. Dereham proposed, forgetting thereby that forbid- 
 den fruit only seems sweeter because it is forbidden. 
 
 But he did not add what Mrs. Dereham told herself. 
 That in a very short time Christmas would be there, 
 with plenty of wholesome amusements and young so- 
 ciety, so that Zoe might not want to go to London or
 
 72 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 the theater. For he considered that, now Zoe was no 
 longer a schoolgirl and had to earn her own living, it 
 would be a mistake for people to notice her so much. 
 It would make her discontented with her position, and 
 there was no denying that she was much too attractive 
 for a penniless girl, much too dangerous to have about, 
 spoiling the chances of one's marriageable daughters by, 
 attracting other people's susceptible sons. 
 
 But he thought that regular churchgoing (the curate 
 was a very much married man) and perhaps a class 
 in the Sunday-school might have a beneficial effect in 
 bringing Zoe to a contented frame of mind. The con- 
 stant repetition of the catechism must perforce become 
 a habit. 
 
 Yes. He would ask Zoe to take a class, without saying 
 a word about this conversation. He would make her 
 feel she would be doing him a favor. She could hardly 
 refuse him that.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 IT so happened that two or three days passed without 
 the Vicar carrying out his intention, so Zoe con- 
 tinued her way all unconscious of the favor he meant 
 to ask, and as obsessed as ever with her idea of leav- 
 ing home for the turmoil of London. 
 
 She found it more difficult than ever to drum things 
 into Fanny's obstinate little head, because she had en- 
 tirely lost what interest she had ever felt in her work, 
 and it was as hard for her to give her mind to the les- 
 sons as it was for Fanny to learn them. Therefore, 
 it is not surprising that Mrs. Broome-Taylor often 
 interfered and corrected her before the child, which was 
 good for neither. 
 
 Perhaps that accounted for Fanny's naughtiness the 
 day after her dancing lesson, which took place every 
 Monday afternoon, though there may be something in 
 the adage that familiarity breeds contempt. 
 
 As Fanny's nurse took her to the dancing class, Zoe 
 was free then for the present, though her mother hoped 
 to find her a pupil, for French or music, for those af- 
 ternoons. For, although she said nothing about it, she 
 was finding it more and more difficult to make ends 
 meet. Even if Zoe's whole wardrobe had not wanted 
 replenishing she loved to see her looking more tastefully, 
 if more cheaply, dressed than other girls. She had 
 been vain herself, once now her vanity was merged in 
 her child who, after one or two demurs, accepted all 
 she was given, telling herself that it was absolutely nec- 
 essary for her to look smart, and that her mother had, 
 of course, exaggerated their poverty. 
 
 73
 
 74 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Then, too, Zoe had a robust, if a fanciful, appetite. 
 It was necessary to give her plenty to eat and the best 
 food was the cheapest in the end. For yourself, no 
 longer growing, and so seldom hungry, it did not mat- 
 ter what you had. Zoe would not notice when she was 
 at home, and, if she did, could easily be put off with 
 an excuse. 
 
 On this particular Tuesday morning Zoe was trying 
 half-heartedly enough to resume the history lesson 
 which had been interrupted by a stormy interlude. 
 But, as usual, her mind was on other things and she 
 was called sharply to attention by Mrs. Broome-Taylor, 
 who exclaimed: 
 
 "What do you mean, Miss Dereham? You have just 
 said that William the Conqueror signed Magna Charta. 
 Don't you remember that it 
 
 "Of course I meant King John," said Zoe, flushing 
 hotly beneath Fanny's watchful gaze. 
 
 "Then, why didn't you say so? If I hadn't been 
 here, your mistake would never have been corrected, 
 and Fanny would have gone through life believing 
 that" 
 
 "No, I shouldn't, Mammie," piped the child. "7 
 knew quite well Miss Dereham was wrong." 
 
 She looked so smug and virtuous that Zoe longed to 
 cuff her told herself that she would too, if she had 
 the chance, when they were alone. 
 
 "That's right, my pet," smiled the foolish mother. 
 "But you should have said so at once." 
 
 "But Miss Dereham says I mustn't interrupt, Mam- 
 mie. She says she has enough of that from you and 
 Granny." 
 
 "Oh, Fanny, that isn't quite what I meant," ejacu- 
 lated Zoe, coloring hotly beneath Mrs. Broome-Taylor 's 
 intent eyes. 
 
 "All the same you said it, didn't you?" retorted the
 
 THE LUEE OF THE FLAME 75 
 
 child. "You said it was bad manners to interfere. 
 So that's why I held my tongue just now, when Mam- 
 mie went for her crochet hook." 
 
 "Why?" queried her mother, eagerly. 
 
 "She she said Paris is the capital of Spain when it 
 isn't!" bubbled Fanny, bursting into shrill laughter, her 
 elfish eyes disappearing in the creases of her face, her 
 two front teeth more fang-like than ever. 
 
 "Little beast!" thought Zoe, whilst Mrs. Broome- 
 Tajlor exclaimed reproachfully: "Oh, Miss Dereham, 
 how careless of you. Fanny, darling, what is Paris the 
 capital of?" 
 
 "France, of course! I knew that; anyone would! 
 Bui Miss Dereham said Spain; she really did, Mam- 
 miel" 
 
 "I'm sorry, but I have a headache," stammered Zoe, 
 looting miserable enough for that to be the truth. 
 "Those are such stupid mistakes that you must know 
 I vrasn't thinking." 
 
 "It was very careless of you." 
 
 "I know I can't imagine what I could be thinking 
 of,'' faltered the girl, the thought of Dardino springing 
 to her mind. "But I really have a headache." 
 
 "Indeed! Well, it isn't due to hard work, I'm sure. 
 You had a quiet afternoon yesterday, unless you went 
 tearing about." 
 
 "I didn't," said Zoe, her humility vanishing beneath 
 the lash. 
 
 "You governesses are so foolish. The minute you are 
 free you forget about your duty to your pupils and 
 use yourselves up, and we have to suffer for your 
 carelessness. ' ' 
 
 "Have I a duty towards my pupils when I am no 
 longer with them?" 
 
 "Most certainly," retorted Mrs. Broome-Taylor, 
 flinching a little beneath the girl's eyes which, for all
 
 76 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 their calm, presaged battle. "But, as you have a head- 
 ache, perhaps it would be better for you to go for the 
 walk now. Fanny, run and put on your things." 
 
 The child hesitated, her keen little nose scenting pow- 
 der, and her desire to witness the explosion being greater 
 than any other. 
 
 "Go," repeated her mother, rising as she spoke and 
 moving towards the doorway through which Fanny 
 slipped reluctantly. "And as for you, Miss Dereham, 
 I must ask you to treat me with more respect before 
 Fanny. Your question about your duty was meant to 
 be impertinent, for you know as well as I do what it 
 is." 
 
 "Indeed I don't " began the girl, the temper wlich 
 had made her the terror of Sainte Croiz, rising steadily 
 as she told herself that this woman was a bully; that 
 she looked more like a seal than a rabbit and just as 
 sleek and slimy; that she hated her. 
 
 "Are you not paid to teach Fanny to the best of 
 your abilities?" retorted Mrs. Broome-Taylor. "Ana to 
 that end, of course, your spare time ought to be spent 
 in improving your mind and refreshing your memory. 
 For you cannot expect me to believe that a mere hesd- 
 ache made you say that Paris is in Spain or that Will- 
 iam the " 
 
 "In other words, you expect me to devote every min- 
 ute to your child?" broke in Zoe passionately, unable 
 to control herself any longer. "But even you her 
 mother don't do that!" 
 
 "I am speaking of you her governess," said Mrs. 
 Broome-Taylor, drawing herself up stiffly. "I engage 
 you and pay you and " 
 
 "Do you think that ten shillings a week, with lunch, 
 and tea thrown in, can buy my every thought? For I 
 don't! I've as much right as anyone to recreation, 
 and more. For Fanny is a naughty child and com-
 
 THE LUEE OF THE FLAME 77 
 
 pletely tires one out. And I'm only too glad to forget 
 her when I leave the house " 
 
 "How dare you speak like that!" 
 
 "You make me by your interference, and " 
 
 "You forget yourself, Miss Dereham. You had bet- 
 ter go and get ready for your walk before you say 
 any more. I cannot stand much more of this." 
 
 "Nor can I. And I don't mind what I say. I 
 mean it all. I hate teaching. I hate Fanny. I hate 
 you" 
 
 "That is enough. You will please take Fanny for 
 her walk and I will speak to you when you come back. 
 Were it not for your mother's sake, I would dismiss 
 you at once. But I know what a hard life hers is, and 
 feel too deeply for her to punish you as you deserve." 
 
 "I wonder you consider her at all, as she's only a 
 governess," retorted Zoe rudely. But her heart mis- 
 gave her a little as she suddenly realized how she had 
 allowed her anger to run away with her tongue, and 
 pictured her mother's grief on hearing all about it. 
 
 "You are a very foolish girl," replied Mrs. Broome- 
 Taylor. "So foolish that I forgive your outburst, and 
 put it down to your not feeling well. But it is very 
 unkind of you, all the same. For we all like you. And 
 Fanny, whom you abuse so unjustly, talks of no one 
 else but you when you are not here. So we'll say 
 nothing more about this, shall we?" 
 
 She looked a little anxiously into the girl's face. She 
 had no desire to part with her. For Zoe knew more 
 than most of the many young governesses she had tried 
 had, by her beauty and high spirits, more hold over 
 Fanny was musical and spoke French well. She con- 
 sidered that she was behaving magnanimously and that 
 Zoe ought to be grateful. Therefore, she was surprised 
 at the silence with which her words were received, at 
 the angry sullen look with which her smile was met.
 
 78 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 It was Fanny who broke the silence by rushing into 
 the room exclaiming: 
 
 "Do let's go to the Park, darling Miss Dereham!" 
 She smiled so coaxingly, slipping her little hand into 
 Zoe's, that the girl's heart swelled suddenly with re- 
 morse for having thought, and called, her horrid. 
 After all, she was only a poor little kid with a fool of 
 a mother! So her anger vanished as it always did 
 at a kind word or the slightest advance from the enemy. 
 That it had not done so in response to Mrs. Broome- 
 Taylor's overture was because she guessed why it was 
 made and was still too sore to be humbugged. And, 
 although she felt ashamed of herself, she was not going 
 to say she was sorry. 
 
 "Are we to stay until lunch-time?" she asked in- 
 stead. 
 
 "You may as well. After an easy day you'll 
 feel all the more eager for the lessons to-morrow. 
 Be a good girl, Fanny, and don't tire Miss Dere- 
 ham." 
 
 "Hypocritical old cat," thought Zoe, despite her 
 qualms of remorse, as she went to fetch her things. 
 
 And just because she was in the mood for resenting 
 slights, she received many on their way to the Park. 
 Girls she had known all their lives were hurried past her 
 by their mothers. Others, walking alone, bowed stiffly, 
 without stopping. One or two looked confused. She 
 began to understand why no one had looked her up 
 since her return, though she had been back so short 
 a time that she had thought nothing about it. She had 
 felt so sure of her friends and herself that it had never 
 entered her head to look for any difference in their man- 
 ner. But now, with Mrs. Broome-Taylor 's words rank- 
 ling in her mind, she knew that they considered her 
 no longer as an equal that she was to them what the 
 grocer's daughter was to her just because she was
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 79 
 
 teaching Fanny. The iron bit deep into her soul, stir- 
 ring up a bitterness which lasted throughout her life, 
 a sense of injustice and unfairness against her kind, a 
 biting scorn. 
 
 She was so overwhelmed by these feelings that she 
 did not speak to the child, who walked demurely by her 
 side, until they entered the Park gates. 
 
 Here Nature held full sway so that even in winter 
 the place was beautiful with its medley of emerald 
 slopes, dipping into a deep-throated valley of hawthorn 
 and bramble, or climbing through a forest of bracken 
 to a plateau dotted with beech trees. 
 
 From the uneven path, circling the lower part from 
 gate to gate, you looked down on the Manor which re- 
 sembled an ugly cardboard toy with its square gray 
 walls, and prim gardens, and walled-in bit of park. 
 From the plateau you had a view of the county for 
 miles around of the distant hills with their milk-white 
 Pilgrim's Way. 
 
 Zoe had always felt the spell of this beautiful spot 
 and had soon discovered that Fanny shared her liking 
 for it and enjoyed hearing about the fairies camping 
 under the bracken, or watching the rabbits play round- 
 ers on the greensward. 
 
 What had been left unspoiled in the child was seen 
 at its best here. She forgot to be peevish or obsti- 
 nate. The stifling influence of a foolish mother and a 
 still more idiotic grandmother could not reach so far. 
 She became a child full of charm and fascination 
 elfish at times, perhaps, but lovable enough. 
 
 So when she tugged at Zoe's hand, as they turned 
 off the trodden path on the soft springy green of the 
 nearest slope, she whispered coaxingly: 
 
 "Please tell me about Saturday, and Madame Dar- 
 dino, and " 
 
 "You don't deserve it," answered Zoe.
 
 80 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Oh, please! I wasn't naughty on purpose. I 
 really wasn't. And I'm sorry; now please tell me." 
 
 "You were a nasty little tell-tale-tit, though." 
 
 "No. I amn't." 
 
 "Yes, you are. You knew quite well that I only 
 made a mistake, you little goose ! ' ' 
 
 "If I was a real tell-tale-tit," said Fanny, turning 
 the subject adroitly, "I'd have told you what I heard 
 yesterday." 
 
 "Pooh! If you had anything to tell, you couldn't 
 help yourself." 
 
 "Couldn't I? It's what Ettie Wood's Nanna told 
 mine at the dancing class. And it's about you," whis- 
 pered Fanny, her face full of elfish beauty, despite the 
 two teeth poking beyond her lips. 
 
 "Servants' gossip isn't worth listening to, still less 
 repeating, as I've told you before," retorted Zoe. Yet 
 curiosity rioted loudly in her heart. For Ettie "Wood 
 was the Vicar's youngest child and the sister of Miriam 
 who had been a great holiday friend of Zoe's, and 
 whose defection that morning, as she passed hurriedly 
 with a half smile, had hurt almost more than any- 
 one's. 
 
 What could those horrid women have said about her? 
 She knew that Fanny's nurse resented her presence in 
 the house, and was jealous of her. But the Woods' 
 Nanna was a nice old family servant with no preten- 
 sions to anything else certainly not to considering her- 
 self on the same footing as the governess. 
 
 "If you tell me about Saturday again, I'll tell you 
 what they said," murmured Fanny, who evidently 
 knew the frailty of her sex. 
 
 "Certainly not. Let's see if there are any rabbits 
 over there." 
 
 "Miriam is going to have a birthday party at the 
 Church Hall next Monday night, so we've got to have
 
 THE LUBE OP THE FLAME 81 
 
 the dancing at eleven o'clock instead of two," went 
 on the child, as they moved further up and stopped 
 before a glade of velvety grass flanked by bracken and 
 bramble bushes stretching far before them. 
 
 "Is that all?" retorted Zoe, with well-feigned in- 
 difference. 
 
 "Ah! but she's going to have a big ball. And a 
 band! And the hall is to be decorated, that's why they 
 want it in the afternoon! It's to be ever so grand, 
 because she's eighteen. And Lady Hitchly's coming 
 from the Manor, and lots of people in a special train ! ' ' 
 
 Zoe was cut to the quick. She had heard nothing 
 of this and had never been left out of anything given 
 by the Woods. She would have said it was impossi- 
 ble for them to forget her. 
 
 "Did you know?" asked Fanny. 
 
 "Of course," lied Zoe, suddenly buoyed by the 
 thought that that was the sole reason for Miriam's 
 slighting behavior just now. They had forgotten her, 
 and Miriam felt ashamed. Of course the "Woods 
 wouldn't look down on her; why should they? Had 
 not they always been the best of friends? Perhaps 
 she would find a belated invitation when she got home. 
 And when all those horrid people, who had nearly 
 cut her, saw her at the ball they too would feel ashamed 
 and try to make up to her. But she would let them 
 see that she wasn't to be taken up and dropped so 
 easily. She would 
 
 "But you're not going, anyhow!" declared the child. 
 
 "Don't you be so sure, Miss Paul Pry." 
 
 "But you aren't. I know. Ettie's Nanna said so." 
 
 "That's because I haven't answered the invitation 
 yet," said Zoe, her hatred of the child reviving as she 
 looked down at her. 
 
 "Well, my Nannie said: 'How sly of Miss Zoe not 
 to tell us about it!' And Ettie's Nanna laughed and
 
 82 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 said: 'But does she know? You don't suppose they've 
 invited her?' And my Nannie said she thought you 
 ought to go, though it might do you good to take you 
 down a peg or two, and Ettie's Nanna said yes, it was 
 time you was shown your place, and " 
 
 "That isn't true, you little beast," cried Zoe, shak- 
 ing her by the arm. "You're inventing it." 
 
 "No, I aren't. God's truth, I aren't," whimpered 
 the child, springing away. 
 
 "Ettie's nurse is a nice old woman. She's never 
 said nasty things about me, I'm sure." 
 
 "All the same, she did say that!" retorted Fanny, 
 keeping her distance, as she flung out the words with 
 as much gusto as though she knew how they would 
 hurt. "And when I asked what your place was, she 
 said it was with me " 
 
 "How very kind of her!" sneered Zoe. 
 
 " And not trying to ape your betters and going to 
 dances where you'd be deetrowed. And when I said, 
 what is deetrowed she said it was the French for 'in 
 the way,' and that you hadn't taught me much if I 
 didn't know that!" 
 
 "Why should I be in the way at Miriam's danced" 
 asked Zoe, her eyes flashing angrily. 
 
 "I don't know," shrugged Fanny. "P'r'aps she 
 thinks you can't dance. But you can, can't you?" 
 
 "As well, if not better, than anyone you know," said 
 Zoe. 
 
 "Can you dance like you saw Madame Dardino 
 dance?" 
 
 Zoe's thoughts flew to the night when her gyrations 
 before the looking-glass had been reflected on the blind. 
 She had repeated them since, longing for more room, 
 for someone to see and applaud her. 
 
 "I don't know," she faltered, glancing round. 
 "Would you like to see me now?"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 83 
 
 "Oh, please! I'll be ever's good!" 
 
 "If I dance it'll be because I want to see if I can, 
 on this lovely grass. Not because you deserve it, for 
 you've been a naughty little girl and " 
 
 "I'll be good for everan'ever now." 
 
 "Well, then stand there and hold my hat." 
 
 Waving her arms, bending, kneeling, whirling, Zoe 
 went up and down the slope like thistledown before 
 the wind. Her feet barely touched the ground, her 
 eyes glowed, her hair shook out its pins and tumbled 
 about her shoulders. 
 
 Fanny drew a long breath of delight, then clapped 
 her hands and cried: 
 
 "Sing too, Dardino. Sing!" 
 
 And Zoe sang in a sweet, clear soprano, casting fur- 
 tive sidelong glances towards the half-hidden figure of 
 a man whom she had watched coming along the path. 
 She had seen him for some time, and after a thrill of 
 nervousness, when she had felt half inclined to stop, 
 had quickened her dance, throwing all her energies into 
 it, hoping he would pause to look at her. And as he 
 did so, her blood tingled with excitement, her heart 
 leaped for joy. It did not matter who or what he was 
 he was another pair of eyes and he thought her beau- 
 tiful: there was no doubt of it, since he had stopped. 
 
 She ended Dardino 's most famous song with a 
 breathless laugh and he came forward clapping loudly. 
 A young man, with a round baby face and twinkling 
 eyes, in well-cut tweeds and thick brown boots. 
 
 ' ' That was splendid ! " he exclaimed, as Fanny shrank 
 away towards Zoe, who was twisting up her hair. 
 "Dardino to the life! But a jolly sight better!" 
 
 "Oh, no!" panted Zoe, looking pleased. "You don't 
 mean it." 
 
 "I do. Honor bright, I do. Dardino 's getting old, 
 and fat. You'd soon put her nose out of joint if you
 
 84 
 
 had a lesson or two. And you'd make your fortune 
 on the stage. Perhaps that's where you are?" 
 
 "No, indeed, I've no such luck!" replied the girl, 
 all sense of prudence flying to the winds. Deaf to the 
 striking of the Manor clock, to the child's peevish, 
 "Do let's go, Miss Dereham," to everything but this 
 chance of speaking about the life she craved for, and 
 reaping what sympathy she could from this new 
 admirer. 
 
 "Well, then, all I can say is that it's a waste for 
 you not to go," he retorted. "But you know that, 
 don't you? Your mirror must have told you that doz- 
 ens of times, and your friends too, and " 
 
 "Not they! They expect me to teach. This little 
 girl is my pupil," said Zoe bitterly. 
 
 He burst out laughing, puckering his face into a 
 thousand wrinkles, his rounder mouth opening wide. 
 
 "Excuse me," he gasped. "But this is the funniest 
 thing I've heard for days. The funniest, by gum, the 
 funniest! You teaching her! And she looking as cute 
 as a wagonload of monkeys, and as solemn as a par- 
 son at a funeral." 
 
 "It amuses you more than it does me," exclaimed 
 Zoe, flushing indignantly. 
 
 "I'm sorry, but really it it's so funny! And you 
 dancing and singing like that, and having to teach a 
 little kid when" 
 
 "Come away, Miss Dereham. He's a rude man, and 
 Mammie'll be ever so angry," murmured Fanny, pull- 
 ing at her hand, and looking reproachfully at the 
 stranger. 
 
 "And then you say you're not wasted!" he went on 
 as Zoe began to walk towards the path. "Bah, I 
 wouldn't stick it a day if I were you. I'd go straight 
 to someone who would help me I say, you aren't angry,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 85 
 
 are you? I meant no harm. But it's such a damned 
 shame, you know " 
 
 He said that so like Roy Keith that the thought 
 that she had done wrong in speaking, and listening, 
 to him vanished almost at its birth, and she smiled back 
 into the very pink and fat and babyish round face. 
 
 "No, I'm not angry," she murmured. "It's very 
 good of you to say such nice things. But of course, 
 if I had known you were there I I shouldn't have 
 been so silly. We were only playing, weren't we, 
 Fanny?" 
 
 "Miss Dereham was Madame Dardino, and I was 
 Miss Dereham," piped the child, her shrewd eyes up- 
 raised to his. 
 
 "So I guessed. Madame Dardino better than she 
 is, and Miss Dereham, is it? as solemn as she isn't!" 
 
 "Oh!" exclaimed Zoe. "You you it's too bad of 
 you!" 
 
 "Are you going that way? I was going the other, 
 to East Park, but if I may walk with you, I'll " 
 
 "We have to hurry," she evaded, the voice of pru- 
 dence clamoring all the more loudly because it had 
 been silenced for so long. Here, where no one could 
 see them where, also, no one could have helped if he 
 had attempted to murder them she could hardly re- 
 fuse to listen to him. His cherubic face was pleasant 
 enough to look at, his manner quite nice. But beyond 
 the Park gates, or even near them, it was wiser to walk 
 alone. 
 
 "Which I take to mean, no," he exclaimed good- 
 naturedly. "Well, anything to oblige, I'm sure. I 
 don't deserve to be allowed to walk with a pretty girl 
 I beg your pardon, Miss Soberkid, two pretty girls is 
 what I ought to say." 
 
 " 'Tisn't," snapped Fanny.
 
 86 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Very well. I don't contradict ladies. Well leave 
 it at one." 
 
 His eyes told plainly enough which was the one ; told 
 something else which called the color to Zoe's brow and 
 whipped up her flagging caution. 
 
 "We must make haste, Fanny," she exclaimed. 
 
 ' ' Will you come, to-morrow ? " he asked. 
 
 "It's getting late and we lunch at " 
 
 "To-morrow, same time?" 
 
 She glanced at Fanny, who had run on a few steps. 
 Had she heard? It was not always easy to guess what 
 was going on in that small head. 
 
 "Same time?" he repeated, smiling persuasively. 
 
 "I I don't know," she stammered. 
 
 "I do. Ta-ta." 
 
 He stood still as they went on. Zoe, glancing back 
 furtively, was annoyed to see that he was still looking 
 after them. 
 
 "He's a nasty, rude man, isn't he?" said Fanny. 
 "And we won't see him to-morrow, will we?" 
 
 "Of course not," said Zoe. 
 
 " 'Cause, you know, I'm sure Mammie wouldn't like 
 it" 
 
 "Well, you needn't bother her about him. She 
 might stop our coming here altogether then and you 
 wouldn't like that. For he has as much right to walk 
 here as we have, you know." 
 
 "Yes and of course I sha'n't say nothink," piped 
 the child, as they passed into the road which led by 
 one or two old-fashioned houses into the Market Place. 
 
 Zoe, who had begun to wonder what Mrs. Broome- 
 Taylor would say, heaved a sigh of relief. Without 
 telling Fanny to hold her tongue, she had made sure 
 of her doing so, and if they chanced to meet the stran- 
 ger again, well the Park was open to all. 
 
 She was not sure whether she wanted to see him
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 87 
 
 again. She certainly ought not to wish it, for he was 
 only a superior clerk or tradesman. But what did that 
 matter? He was more interesting than Fanny, and 
 it was refreshing to meet anyone whose eyes met yours 
 with nothing but admiration, even if they made you 
 feel a little nervous at times. But did they? Had not 
 you fancied it? Why should you feel so? Could you 
 feel so again? It would be worth while meeting him 
 if only to set your mind at rest about that. 
 
 And now, who should she see, as they crossed the 
 road, but the Vicar and Effie. They were coming out 
 of a shop, and as the two children ran into each other's 
 arms, he turned smilingly to Zoe, exclaiming: 
 
 "Well, now, this is lucky! I wanted particularly to 
 see you. Now, then, Mischief in front!" 
 
 The children obeyed laughingly, whilst Zoe's eyes lit 
 up in pleasure and her face glowed. He was going to 
 tell her that she must come to Miriam's party, that 
 they always meant to ask her, that she must forgive 
 them for their oversight. 
 
 But as he went on to explain that he was short of 
 Sunday-school workers and wanted to enlist her help, 
 explaining how good it would be for her, her pleased 
 expression faded away and her heart sank. 
 
 "You want me to take a class!" she exclaimed. 
 
 "That's it. Some of the little girls, if you will." 
 
 "I don't know" she hesitated. "I don't 
 like teaching at all and I prefer boys. It would be 
 more of a change after being with Fanny all the 
 week." 
 
 "Boys! Well, it might be managed," he demurred. 
 
 "But I'm not a bit of good, really. You see, we had 
 so much religion at school that I oughtn't to say it 
 to you I made up my mind I'd take a rest from the 
 Bible and" 
 
 "I understand," he smiled. "They're too zealous in
 
 88 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 that sect defeat their own ends like most of these non- 
 conformists. And if you will help me, I promise you 
 wouldn't find your task as gloomy as that. I'll be 
 only too glad to " He stopped to scrape his throat. 
 Something seemed to puzzle him as he glanced at her 
 the look she knew so well crept into his eyes and, 
 although she fancied she knew what he was going to 
 say, that the bribe he offered would be the longed-for 
 invitation, she suddenly remembered the French pastor 
 and his solemn words: "God has given you a great 
 gift the gift of beauty. Take care that you do not 
 make of it a curse." 
 
 Perhaps Mr. Wood different as he was was going 
 to say the same. 
 
 "Only too glad," repeated the Vicar, his eyes grow- 
 ing cautious, "to let you teach them in your own way. 
 We want no fire and brimstone, you understand?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," she smiled, reflecting that perhaps the 
 bribe was still forthcoming. "You don't want me to 
 pray like this: 'Dear Lord, we are miserable sinners, 
 I beseech you do not let us fry in the grease of our 
 Bins!' We were taken to a meeting where anyone 
 could pray who felt so moved, and that's what an old 
 peasant said!" 
 
 "No," he laughed, "you needn't do that! A little 
 story, a hymn, a few cheerful words that's all. I see 
 you understand, and I'm sure you'll manage beauti- 
 fully. You'll like the other teachers too perhaps you 
 know some. We're a happy family. Talk it over with 
 your mother and send me word before Sunday. Ah! 
 and here comes the parting of our ways Effie, say 
 good-by." 
 
 And not a word about the ball! Not a word about 
 going to the Vicarage! Nothing to show that things 
 were to be the same as ever. 
 
 "You 11 manage beautifully you'll like the other
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 89 
 
 teachers too!" He took it for granted that she would 
 consent. Why should she? Why should she teach on 
 Sundays as well as on weekdays, when his daughters 
 did neither? Why should he feel sure that she was 
 going to like the other teachers, not one of whom was 
 her social equal? And yet, now, whose equal was she 
 really ?
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 BUT the afternoon did not pass without clouds, al- 
 though Mrs. Broome-Taylor and her mother had 
 gone to town, and Zoe had Fanny to herself. 
 
 For Nannie dared to interfere with Zoe, for allow- 
 ing Fanny to slide down the banister rail, and, losing 
 her temper when Zoe told her to mind her own busi- 
 ness poured out such a lava of vituperation and insult 
 that the girl pushed her out of the room and locked 
 the door in her face. 
 
 But, although she scored then, she knew the woman 
 well enough to feel sure that she would have her revenge. 
 And guessed what was coming, when, as she was about 
 to leave the house, Mrs. Broome-Taylor swept angrily 
 into the room followed by her mother and Nannie, who 
 had opened the door to them on their return and told 
 her story. They could not even stop to take off their 
 things. 
 
 There was a terrible scene, in which the happenings 
 of the morning, the story of the meeting in the Park, 
 which Fanny had blurted out whilst being tidied for 
 tea, and Zoe's complete unworthiness were jumbled 
 together and shaken in her face, until at last she rushed 
 from the room and out of the house, carrying with 
 her a fleeting vision of the three women's angry faces, 
 and Fanny's pale with excitement, as she flew down 
 the path and out into the road. 
 
 She had run some distance before she realized that 
 they were not behind her that probably they were as 
 glad to see her go as she to leave them. Then she re- 
 membered her mother, and her misery increased a thou- 
 
 90
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 91 
 
 sandfold. But surely, she would understand now how 
 horrid everybody was and agree that she really was un- 
 suited for teaching. Oh, she must! She must let her 
 get out of this and away from a place where nobody 
 wanted her, nobody cared for her. 
 
 She felt so wretched that although she glanced at 
 the faces of those she met, to see if they were going 
 to acknowledge her and how, she quite forgot to look for 
 admiration, forgot to give the glad eye to the sta- 
 tioner's handsome assistant, who was always at the shop 
 door when she passed ; forgot to glance at her reflection 
 in the windows. She only wanted to get away out of 
 it all. 
 
 For a moment she hesitated about going home. But 
 she had no money in her pocket and could not leave 
 her mother without a word, for the Broome-Taylors to 
 have it their own way. She must tell how they had 
 driven her away by what they said they, and the hate- 
 ful Vicar who did not think her good enough to go 
 to Miriam's ball, though he had no such hesitancy in 
 thinking his Sunday-school teachers good enough for 
 her. 
 
 She let herself in with her latchkey and bounced into 
 the sitting-room. It looked more desolate than usual, 
 because the loving welcome she expected was not forth- 
 coming. Her mother was out. She remembered it was 
 the day for a late lesson, and turned to her own room 
 with tears in her eyes. 
 
 Everything was against her, as well as everyone. 
 Her head ached. It was barely five. How could she 
 wait when something had to be done at once to show 
 the Broome-Taylors that they need never expect to see 
 her again, to tell her mother that Dunsworth and 
 teaching were not for her? 
 
 The evil within her awoke. It is possible it had 
 been more active than usual to-day. At any rate, it
 
 92 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 found a clear field now, as it whispered that there had 
 always been a lack of sympathy in her mother. She 
 had frowned upon Madame Lefont and avoided her 
 ever since when she said that it was "weecked to have 
 to teach with such a preety face." She had paid very 
 little attention to complaints about Fanny or Mrs. 
 Broome-Taylor, or Nannie's insolence and familiarity. 
 She would most probably be just as indifferent now. 
 It would be better, far better, to show her that things 
 could never be the same, by going away at once. It 
 had to come this parting, therefore, let it come now. 
 
 She counted the money in her purse. There was 
 enough to keep her for a week or so, until she had found 
 work. Madame Dardino would help her if put to the 
 push. Mr. Raynor had said so, and he well, so would 
 he! 
 
 She need not mind leaving home. Her mother would 
 only have to keep herself, and would thus be better 
 off. Some day, soon, there would be the joy of send- 
 ing money to her, of receiving her in far grander sur- 
 roundings than these. 
 
 She glanced around contemptuously as she packed a 
 small bag. At the mirror which had reflected her danc- 
 ing so valiantly; at the small bed, where she had 
 dreamed so often of Roy Keith coming to save her; at 
 the chintz patterned walls and cheap brown furniture. 
 She felt no sorrow at leaving them, only disgust 
 for their shabbiness, little knowing how desirable they 
 would appear some day. 
 
 But the thought of Roy Keith had recalled something 
 else. Hales 's strong, kind face, his stirring words: 
 
 "Change your mind and face the music like the 
 brave girl you are!" 
 
 "Never!" she had cried. "Never!" she echoed now. 
 
 Facing the music had led to trouble then. Facing 
 it now would mean resuming life with Fanny and the
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 93 
 
 lesson books. Freedom had offered itself suddenly, un- 
 expectedly, violently perhaps, but it had come and she 
 was not going back to bondage. 
 
 A hush lay about the little house, in the dusk-filled 
 passage and down the narrow stairway. The landlady 
 peeped out of the kitchen and nodded, her eyes drop- 
 ping inquiringly to Zoe's bag as she exclaimed: 
 
 "You're back early to-day, Miss." 
 
 "Yes. I came to fetch something. I'm going back 
 now. ' ' 
 
 She uttered the lie without a qualm. It was a nec- 
 essary one. Quite good and proper people told neces- 
 sary lies if they suited their purpose better than the 
 plain, unvarnished truth. She had discovered that long 
 ago, and had learnt to do likewise. It saved a lot of 
 trouble and annoyance. 
 
 She hurried quickly along the road into the main 
 thoroughfare and hailed the London 'bus. It would 
 take longer than the train, but there was less risk of 
 being met by someone who might guess what you con- 
 templated doing by your mother who was coming home 
 that way. 
 
 She scrambled on to the top and made for a front 
 seat. She had been there some time when she discov- 
 ered that the man she had seen in the Park was on the 
 other side. He bowed and smiled across to his fellow- 
 traveler. And presently when the seat beside her be- 
 came vacant, he moved over to it, exclaiming in a low 
 voice : 
 
 "This is a bit of luck!" 
 
 "Why?" asked Zoe, hoping he would not see how red 
 her eyes were. 
 
 "Because I didn't expect to meet you now though 
 I knew I should to-morrow." 
 
 She sat silent, her eyes on the street, a little feel- 
 ing of pleasure creeping up in her heart. She won-
 
 94 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 dered what he would say if he knew that she would 
 not be there to-morrow, that she never meant to see 
 the Park again, although she loved it so. 
 
 "Going to town?" he asked, looking at her bag. 
 
 "Yes. Are you?" 
 
 "That's so. Dunsworth is too dull at nights, isn't 
 it?" 
 
 "I think it's deadly dull at any time!" she exclaimed 
 vehemently. ' 1 1 I hate it ! " 
 
 "Oh, come now it isn't so bad. I've known worse 
 places. You didn't look dull when I saw you this 
 morning. ' ' 
 
 "I was I always am. But but " 
 
 She hesitated, debating in her mind as to the wis- 
 dom of telling him that she was leaving for good. 
 
 "I'm off to a music hall," he exclaimed. "Guess 
 where. ' ' 
 
 "I don't know there are so many." 
 
 "Well, you might guess. I'm going to see Dardino. 
 You put her into my head. I felt I must see her again, 
 if only to be able to tell you how much better I 
 think you are. I little knew I was going to meet you 
 now!" 
 
 "How can you say I'm better. She's a singer I'm 
 not. It's as a singer she wishes to be known. The 
 dancing she does doesn't count, and " 
 
 "Yours does, though," he murmured, edging closer 
 and looking into her face. "I bet it would if you'd 
 got the right togs on." 
 
 Her cheeks flamed as she thought of Dardino 's 
 tights, of her own shrunken garment. If he had seen 
 her, last night! 
 
 The vision of her little room, of the tilted mirror, 
 of her will-o'-the-wisp-like shadow on the ceiling, swam 
 before her eyes, which she kept turned from him. 
 
 "If you were dressed like Dardino," he went on,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 95 
 
 close to her ear, "or rather if you undressed as she 
 does, I bet you'd look a stunner!" 
 
 She glanced round timidly to see if anyone else 
 heard. How dared he say such things! 
 
 This came of talking to inferiors. He was that, de- 
 spite his well-cut tweeds and good brown boots and 
 general air of prosperity. The mere fact of his going 
 to town in such a get-up at this time of day proved 
 it, let alone the touch of vulgarity in tone and look 
 and conversation. And yet what harm had he done? 
 He admired her and said so. He merely looked upon 
 her as a lovely statue, a beautiful picture. She won- 
 dered what he would say if he saw how white her skin 
 was, how shapely her limbs, hew seductive the soft 
 curves of her body. Could that be what he meant by 
 saying she would look a stunner? 
 
 "I was thinking that, this morning," he went on. 
 "Just as I was thinking you were wasted on the Sober 
 Kid. What's become of her, by the way?" 
 
 "I don't stay with her at night, thank goodness! 
 I finish with her after tea." 
 
 "And then you go home?" 
 
 "Yes I go home." 
 
 "And you are free for the whole evening?" 
 
 "Yes " she nodded, wondering if she should tell 
 him that she was free forever so far as the Sober Kid, 
 as he called her, was concerned. But before she could 
 make up her mind, he exclaimed: 
 
 "Then, by Jove! why shouldn't we see Dardino to- 
 gether or anyone else you prefer? We can get some- 
 thing to eat first at one of those jolly little restaurants 
 in Soho." 
 
 "Oh, no I couldn't." 
 
 "Why not? It's quite proper, and who's to know? 
 I'll see you home afterwards, if you like. I'm going 
 back to-night."
 
 96 
 
 "It isn't that. I have to go somewhere else." 
 
 "A rendezvous with a nice 'boy,' eh? I guessed that. 
 It's just my luck!" 
 
 "Why do you say that?" asked Zoe, vexed that he 
 should imagine she went out to meet a "boy," yet flat- 
 tered by his tone and look. 
 
 "Because you're not the sort to go begging. You're 
 too pretty, you know." 
 
 "I don't know. You shouldn't say such things to a 
 girl you know nothing about." 
 
 "I don't." 
 
 "You don't know anything about me!" she ex- 
 claimed, tossing her head. 
 
 "Don't I! You're Miss Zoe Dereham, the pretty 
 daughter of a clever mother. You have just left your 
 school in France and you teach the Sober Kid. 
 Further, you are running away from home." 
 
 "Oh!" ejaculated Zoe, glancing at him under her 
 lashes. "How clever you are!" 
 
 "It's true, isn't it?" 
 
 "I sha'n't tell you. And it's horribly mean of you 
 to ferret out my affairs and not say a word about your- 
 self." 
 
 "You haven't asked me, or I'd be ready to tell you. 
 My name's Bert Lin don. I'm staying with my aunt at 
 East Park. I've come up for a few days' holiday from 
 Bognor, where I have a farm. And you and the Sober 
 Kid are so well known that one chance inquiry which 
 is excusable, considering how you fascinated me was 
 sufficient for me to obtain the information I have just 
 given you. I also heard that you are the thirteenth 
 governess the Sober Kid has had, and as thirteen is 
 an unlucky number and you had plainly said you hate 
 teaching and you appear with a suspicious-looking bag, 
 enroute for London, at this time of day, you can't ex- 
 pect me to think anything but "
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 97 
 
 "I don't care what you think!" said Zoe stiffly, get- 
 ting up. "I'm getting down here." 
 
 "So am I." 
 
 She moved quickly to the stairs, determined to have 
 done with him. A farmer! Hardly the sort of per- 
 son one cared to be seen with in London. And yet he 
 had nice eyes, and thought a lot of her for all he was 
 so conceited that he did not appear to realize there was 
 a difference of class between them. Though to be sure 
 she had hardly shown that she realized it herself. 
 
 She was waiting at the corner of Bond Street when 
 she felt his hand on her arm. 
 
 "Look here," he said pleadingly. "Don't be angry. 
 I really want to help you. Is it another 'bus you 
 want?" 
 
 "No, I have to cross." 
 
 "Is that all?" His strong arm was under hers and, 
 before she realized it, she was on the opposite pave- 
 ment, and he was asking which way she meant to go, 
 and if he might walk with her. 
 
 "You see, it's getting late for young ladies to be out 
 alone," he commented. "And besides I see you're 
 worried. Won't you tell me what's the matter, and 
 where you mean to go?" 
 
 The temptation to tell was irresistible. Zoe was a 
 communicative person and could rarely keep anything 
 to herself. Just as she needed love and affection, so 
 she needed sympathy and someone to confide in. 
 Therefore, in a few minutes, her story was out, and 
 Bert Lindon knew why she had run away, why she 
 hated Dunsworth, why she was in town. 
 
 He listened with interest, his cherubic face grave. 
 Probably he saw she was suffering and knew how hope- 
 less was the fight she had to face. Whether he thought 
 her equal to it knew her as ignorant of evil as she 
 was was himself as innocent of leading her into temp-
 
 98 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 tation as he looked he showed no sign, but walked in 
 silence for a few steps before he exclaimed: 
 
 "And do you think Madame Dardino will help 
 you?" 
 
 "I can't say! I'm going to see." 
 
 She wondered why he looked so thoughtful as he 
 asked what she was going to do if Dardino did not 
 keep her for the night. 
 
 "I can get a room, somewhere," she faltered, brought 
 suddenly face to face with the immensity of her daring. 
 
 "Why not change your mind and go home. Your 
 mother must see that the Sober Kid is no more for you, 
 and 
 
 "No. I shall not go back. Don 't you see how impos- 
 sible it is? I wanted to leave long ago, and this is 
 my chance. I should be a fool not to take it. If 
 Madame Dardino won't help me, well someone else will 
 and and " 
 
 "Go to 50a Beamont Street. I know the woman 
 there. A friend of mine lodged with her. I'll wait 
 outside Dardino 's and take you to her if you don't 
 stay. I've heaps of time, you see. Hours before the 
 theaters start. And then we could spend the evening 
 together as I said and " 
 
 "Thank you. But" 
 
 "And I know one or two people on the stage. A 
 fellow who went from Rickmansworth, where I lived 
 once and " 
 
 "Here's the house," interrupted Zoe, stopping sud- 
 denly. 
 
 "I'll wait. If you don't come out in a few min- 
 utes, I shall know you're all right. But if she won't 
 do anything for you, promise you'll let me help." 
 
 She looked at him reflectively, recalling her mother's 
 words about speaking to strangers and accepting their 
 help. But that had been about casual meetings with
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 99 
 
 no hint of such an unusual predicament as this. Be- 
 sides, what harm could he do to her. He looked very 
 kind and certainly very sorry. Such a friend was bet- 
 ter than none. 
 
 "Very well, I will," she murmured, as she ran lightly 
 up the steps and rang the bell.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 MADAME DARDINO, who liked the locality be- 
 cause it was central, and she laughingly ex- 
 plained so eminently respectable, had taken a house 
 in Queen Anne Street. It belonged to a specialist who 
 had moved his young family into the country, and re- 
 quired only a couple of rooms on the ground floor. 
 
 The others, though paneled and exquisitely furnished 
 in antiques, looked, under Dardino 's regime, like an 
 outraged courtier forced against his will to masquerade 
 as clown. For over the dignity of the old-world rooms 
 trailed the garish draperies, the beribboned chocolate 
 boxes, the miscellaneous rubbish, so loved by women of 
 the singer's type. 
 
 On this particular evening Dardino, who had come 
 straight home after her "turn," was receiving so 
 sounds of many voices and much laughter were wafted 
 down to Zoe as she stood on the threshold, the dusk- 
 filled street behind her, some measure of her trouble 
 in her face. 
 
 She seemed to be expected by the way in which the 
 pert-looking maid took her bag and umbrella, and led 
 her upstairs. 
 
 "What name, please?" she asked, as they stopped 
 before a closed door behind which some man was sing- 
 ing. 
 
 Zoe was seized with sudden shyness and tried to say 
 that she wanted to see Madame Dardino alone, but, the 
 song having ended in a round of applause, the door 
 swung open and she was announced. 
 
 100
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 101 
 
 Madame Dardino, who was standing near it, turned 
 with a brilliant smile and took her hand, exclaiming : 
 
 "Ah! So here you are! How did you come?" 
 
 "By 'bus " said Zoe, and it flashed into her mind 
 that she had been invited. But when? Anyhow, she 
 was glad Madame Dardino thought so, for it explained 
 her presence for the moment. 
 
 An amused laugh from Dardino, and the group round 
 her, greeted the words. 
 
 "What a quaint little girl she is!" said the singer. 
 "I mean, how did you get round Mama?" 
 
 "I I don't understand," murmured Zoe, her color 
 rising at the sneer in Dardino 's tone, the covert smile 
 on the others' faces. 
 
 "It's simple enough. I invited you to come to-day. 
 Your mother answered the letter, saying you had an 
 important engagement. ' ' 
 
 Zoe stood dumfounded, her heart filling with resent- 
 ment against her mother who had dared to open her 
 letter and say nothing about it. It was too bad of her. 
 But she could not say so to Dardino, who would think 
 her a meek fool for allowing it. Therefore, she re- 
 plied quickly: 
 
 "And so I had. But I got off unexpectedly. You 
 see, I teach until teatime, as a rule." 
 
 "But Dardino was not listening. She was not a bit 
 interested in anyone but herself. Her manner had 
 shown that she guessed Mrs. Dereham disapproved of 
 her and that she didn't care one jot. Moreover, the 
 tenor, who had been singing, had started an encore, 
 so she pointed out a vacant seat to the girl, and sat 
 down herself. 
 
 The singer was an insignificant looking little man 
 with great faith in his own voice and the firm conviction 
 that it was shared by the audience. Zoe, however, was 
 more interested in examining the motley crowd and
 
 102 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 wondering how many were as poor and lonely as her- 
 self. She had never seen so many queer people at 
 once, and glanced from one to the other with puzzled 
 eyes; from the tenor to a weird-looking woman who 
 was hanging on his words. 
 
 She looked thin and snake-like in a dull black gown 
 which fitted as tightly as a skin. Her black toque, 
 crushed well over her face, seemed no blacker than the 
 hair it hid. A short veil, resembling a mask, reached 
 to the pert tip of her nose. Through it you caught the 
 gleam of somber eyes; beneath it, the lure of crimson 
 lips. And as she listened, as though each word were 
 breath to her, she smoked and smoked and smoked. 
 
 Zoe heard later that she was a famous snake-charmer 
 and no longer wondered at her weird appearance and 
 her power to fascinate. For she could hardly take her 
 eyes off her, although a far more beautiful woman sat 
 close by, with a smile upon her lips and a dancing mis- 
 chief in her face. 
 
 She recognized many faces familiar to her, through 
 picture postcards and posters. Harold Hailey, the 
 King of Pierrots, with his leading lady, Vesta Royce; 
 Merry Minnie Mayne, whose well-known smile beamed 
 now on all around; Dicky Dare, the dancer; Ruditsky, 
 his Russian rival; Georgie Gaines, the inimitable low 
 comedian, and Joey Rowe, the great conductor of the 
 Alcazar Orchestra. 
 
 They interested her tremendously. She thought it 
 splendid of them to listen so silently and good-naturedly 
 to the poor piping of the self-satisfied tenor who, she 
 was told, by a dainty blonde sitting beside her, was 
 quite unknown and likely to remain so. 
 
 "I can believe that," said Zoe. "But why did they 
 encore him?" 
 
 "Because they're a kind-hearted lot and know that 
 he loves hearing his own voice."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 103 
 
 "Are professionals always so kind to one another?" 
 
 "Well not always! You see, there's no fear of his 
 being able to share the throne of any one of these men 
 nor of usurping it. And the lion could afford to be 
 kind to the mouse, you know." 
 
 "Yes," said Zoe, wondering how they would treat 
 her if they knew how she longed to join their ranks. 
 She did not quite like to say that to this stranger, whose 
 face was familiar, but whose name eluded her. But, as 
 if in answer to her thought, Dardino leaned towards 
 them, exclaiming: 
 
 "Why do you look so solemn, Zoe? Are you tell- 
 ing Miss Gay what you long to be ? No ? This foolish 
 little girl wants to be an actress, Lottie!" 
 
 "What! Not really? Another fly round the honey 
 pot!" laughed Lottie whom Zoe now realized, with a 
 thrill of pleasure, was Lottie Gay, the star of stars in 
 musical comedy, though she did not know that her rise 
 in the theatrical firmament was certainly not due to her 
 talents. 
 
 "Yes," smiled Zoe, "I love honey!" 
 
 "H'm. It's only a few that get the honey, my 
 dear!" 
 
 "So I've told her," interposed Dardino. "But she's 
 just as silly as little flies always are. She wants to walk 
 into the spider's parlor, although she must know what 
 that will mean." 
 
 "What will it mean?" asked the girl, whilst the two 
 women smiled ambiguously at each other. "It can't 
 be worse than being a governess, anyhow. And you 
 look nicer than governesses and happier and " 
 
 "I should jolly well think so!" exclaimed Lottie. 
 "We've no use for governesses here nor chaperones; 
 have we, Billy?" 
 
 She laughed loudly. Zoe crimsoned awkwardly. 
 What did she really mean? They were just as mys-
 
 104 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 terious, these people, as everyone else; just as reluctant 
 to explain things. 
 
 Billy, a tall man with a stoop, and an eye-glass, and 
 a oh-deah-what-a-bore-it-is expression, laughed too and 
 whispered in Lottie's ear, glancing at Zoe the while. 
 She felt furious. Why was he laughing at her? Why 
 did the others stare? She was not a baby nor a fool. 
 It was too bad of Dardino and Lottie to show her up 
 like this, but she would let them see she did not care. 
 
 So she threw back her head and met the eyes focused 
 upon her with a smile, exclaiming: 
 
 "Well, of course, I didn't suppose you wanted a 
 chaperone, Miss Gay " 
 
 Her words were drowned in a roar of laughter. 
 Others who had started talking, since the singing 
 had ceased, paused to ask what the fun was, and Zoe 
 heard her words repeated and received with mirth. 
 For the life of her she could not understand why they 
 were so amused, nor why Lottie was suddenly tarns- 
 formed into a vicious fury by the remark: "She had 
 you there, Lottie!" 
 
 "Who is she?" asked Billy loudly. 
 
 "A damned amateur!" muttered Lottie. 
 
 "More like an old hand," he smiled, looking at Zoe. 
 "Unless it's a case of out of the mouths of babes and 
 sucklings. Which are you, my dear," he added, "an 
 amateur or an old hand?" 
 
 "Of course I'm an amateur," responded Zoe, flat- 
 tered by the endearment; "I've never been on the 
 stage." 
 
 Fresh amusement greeted her remark, making her 
 wonder if she had said anything stupid. For amateur 
 she learned later had more than one meaning in that 
 community. 
 
 "Never mind them," exclaimed Billy. "They al- 
 ways behave like lunatics at the Zoo, when they see, or
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 105 
 
 Hear, anything fresh and young. That's the worst of 
 stage life. It makes the bud expand like a foolish tulip 
 in an overheated room, and leaves nothing to the imagi- 
 nation. It's just as well you're not on it." 
 
 "All the same I want to be an actress," said Zoe. 
 
 "What kind?" 
 
 "Shakespearean, of course," laughed a voice behind. 
 "They all want that at first, and are glad enough to 
 drop into farce or the chorus or " 
 
 "I don't!" exclaimed Zoe. "I want to be like 
 like" 
 
 Her heart sank as she met Dardino's eyes and the 
 words died on her lips. She looked round anxiously 
 for some sign of friendship on the faces turned to hers. 
 But, excepting Billy's and one or two in the back- 
 ground, they all expressed amusement and mockery. 
 There was a hostility in most of the women's eyes which 
 reminded her of those last days at Sainte Croix. She 
 remembered that she had not put on her best clothes 
 and fancied they were quizzing her. If only she had 
 remained outside! 
 
 "Well," asked Dardino, coldly, "who do you want 
 to belike?" 
 
 "Need you ask?" faltered Zoe. "If only I could 
 be one-quarter as good as yourself I should be satis- 
 fied." 
 
 "That's as ambitious as Shakespeare!" laughed Lot- 
 tie, who seemed to have recovered her temper, though 
 her eyes gleamed maliciously as they compelled the 
 girl's. 
 
 "I know. But nothing venture nothing have! " 
 said Zoe, reflecting that mottoes were useful sometimes, 
 although she had told her mother she hated to hear 
 them quoted. 
 
 "That's true enough," said Dardino, "but to be like 
 me you would want more than one thing at your finger-
 
 106 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 tips. Dancing singing mimicking, and a something 
 I cannot name!" 
 
 "Natural charm?" asked Billy. "Well, we'll allow 
 the young lady has that." 
 
 "That's nothing, without the others," snapped Dar- 
 dino, who was evidently annoyed. 
 
 "Of course not Can you dance, my dear?" 
 
 "A little " said Zoe, wondering why Dardino was 
 so nasty now, and hoping she would not mind what she 
 said. She did not want to make her angry when she 
 was the only person who could help her. And yet, 
 something of the old Zoe, self-assured, determined to 
 prove she was as good as anyone, quarreled with the 
 feeling of diffidence which was so new in her. 
 
 "And sing?" 
 
 "Oh, yes." 
 
 "Let's hear you. Madame Dardino won't mind. 
 We'll tell you whether you'll make an actress or 
 not." 
 
 Zoe glanced again at Dardino, and then, though she 
 never quite knew how it happened, she found herself 
 standing by the piano. Everybody was silent, every- 
 body was looking at her. Her heart thumped, her lips 
 trembled, her lips felt parched. But she remembered 
 that they had all been more than kind to the poor tenor, 
 and their seeming unwillingness to be kind to her must 
 mean that they believed she would be good, and for some 
 reason or other resented it. Well, let them ! Bert Lin- 
 don had said: "Dardino to the life, and a jolly sight 
 better!" 
 
 She would show them she could do something and, 
 because they were true artists, each in his own way, 
 they must give her her due. This was her chance of 
 finding herself. She would be an idiot to bungle it. 
 
 She had caught a glimpse of herself in one of the 
 long mirrors, and was buoyed by the knowledge that,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 107 
 
 although she had on her old navy skirt with a simple 
 white silk blouse made with a sailor collar and a big 
 black bow, she looked quite as nice as many of the 
 women there, for all their gaudy silks and satins. 
 Someone had told her to take off her hat and coat, and 
 the light shone down upon her head, turning her thick 
 wavy hair into a crown of burnished gold. Through 
 her long lashes she read admiration in the men's eyes 
 and knew that she looked her best. 
 
 So she lifted up her voice bravely and sang to the 
 accompaniment of a young French musician who said 
 he knew the music of the songs she had mentioned. 
 Her voice floated through the hushed room hushed, 
 she could see, with wonder not mere tolerance. 
 
 Well, she knew she had a nice voice. She had 
 inherited her mother's. In spite of her youth, it was 
 mature and had been well trained. She knew quite 
 well also, that it would be beautiful some day, and 
 that the light song she sang suited it now to perfection ; 
 suited her also, as she stood there, looking bewitchingly 
 pretty a coquette from head to foot, as she sent her 
 long glances from one man to another. 
 
 And the loud applause went to her head like wine. 
 She was glad she had overcome her feelings of reluc- 
 tance and stage fright glad that the women had looked 
 contemptuous enough to put her on her mettle. She 
 forgot to look at Dardino and Lottie; forgot how, and 
 why, she had come, remembered only that these people 
 approved of her at last, for she had compelled the 
 artist in them to recognize the artist in her. 
 
 "Encore, encore!" they cried as with one voice. 
 
 "Something English, this time." 
 
 "Let's see you dance," said Billy. 
 
 "Yes, let's" smiled the King of all the Pierrots. 
 
 "I know nothing really," she faltered, turning to the 
 pianist who was playing softly, his face turned to her.
 
 108 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Nothing at all?" exclaimed Merrie Minnie Mayne, 
 "Just try. Anything will do." 
 
 "I haven't learnt properly." 
 
 "That's why we shall like it when you know exactly 
 what is coming, you enjoy it less. You're a mimic a 
 born mimic," said Harold Hailey, his broad face beam- 
 ing good-natured criticism, "Take someone you've seen 
 lately." 
 
 She hesitated, recalling her dance in the park. Per- 
 haps if she repeated it here, this kind man might engage 
 her on the spot. It was hardly what she wanted a 
 pierrot troupe but it would be a beginning, and from 
 what they had said about Shakespeare it was a mistake 
 to aim too high. 
 
 Yes, she could sing that song of Dardino's which 
 ended in her throwing aside her cloak and revealing 
 herself in tights, to dance as alluringly as she had 
 sung. 
 
 Should she try? Risk Dardino's displeasure per- 
 haps? She turned to her as she murmured: 
 
 "Really I know nothing. I've only seen Madame 
 Dardino." 
 
 ' ' Good ! She won 't mind everybody copies her, and 
 she rather likes it, don't you Dardy?" 
 
 Dardino shrugged and smiled, with narrowed eyes on 
 Zoe's expectant face. 
 
 "Why should I mind?" she exclaimed, "They say 
 that imitation is the sincerest form of flatterv, don't 
 they?" 
 
 "There, you see you needn't mind. Besides, accord- 
 ing to your imitation we shall be able to judge of your 
 abilities," coaxed Billy. "If it's good taste we shall 
 tell you. If it's bad well, it's better to know so at 
 once, isn't it?" 
 
 "I don't mind," nodded Dardino as she turned to 
 smile at Raymond Raynor who had just come in. "In
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 109 
 
 fact I want to see you Raymond, little Zoe is going to 
 impersonate me!" 
 
 Zoe needed no more telling. She told herself that 
 she had merely imagined that Dardino was cross with 
 her when all the time she was perhaps thinking about 
 something else. School had made her suspicious and 
 ready to think everyone had some hidden desire to 
 thwart and annoy her. Of course Dardino was much 
 too great to feel anything of the kind. This proved 
 it; she had been a goose to fancy anything else. 
 
 The pianist, who was Dardino 's accompanist, had 
 started playing and a hush had fallen upon the room. 
 She met Raynor's eyes, smiling sympathetically at her 
 Billy's, full of the look she knew so well; Hailey's 
 expectantly amused; and decided to do her best for 
 these three if for no one else. 
 
 She avoided looking at Dardino as she broke into 
 song, tried to think of nothing but the stage at the 
 Alcazar but instead she saw the green glades of the 
 Park, with Fanny standing open-mouthed before her. 
 And as she sang the last note and flung away an imag- 
 inary cloak to break into the seductive dance she only 
 thought what a good thing she had on her old-fashioned 
 wide skirt what a pity, though, she was not in tights! 
 
 She stopped breathlessly deafened almost by the 
 roar of delight, by the shouts: "Encore!" 
 
 "Come on," muttered the pianist, as he started the 
 opening bars again. 
 
 It was then that a little white faced woman was 
 ushered into the room. She darted forward with a low 
 exclamation of despair. Zoe, drunk with excitement, 
 heard it vaguely, saw, as through a fog, the familiar 
 face she knew to be miles away and smiled, as Raynor 
 stepped between it and her. For he at any rate was 
 real enough and roused nothing but pleasant feelings 
 in her heart.
 
 110 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 And it was impossible for her mother to have followed 
 her just as it was impossible for Fanny to be there. 
 And yet she saw the child clearly, standing, eyes agaze 
 before her, and Bert Lindon bursting through the 
 bushes to mingle his applause with that of these others 
 his cry, "Dardino to the life, and a jolly sight better," 
 with their encores. 
 
 All the same there was a disturbance near the door. 
 Dardino was looking towards her with a cruel smile 
 about her lips. Raynor's voice floated down to her: 
 
 "Let her finish. She's wonderful!" 
 
 Merry Minnie Mayne was saying: ""Where's the 
 harm? It's in her. I'd love to teach her myself!" 
 
 And then a slight movement revealed the little figure 
 upon a couch, its sad face as white as death, its eyes 
 those eyes she loved closed to everything around. 
 
 "With a sudden thrill of fear she stopped. It was her 
 mother! How ill she looked! Heedless of the people 
 closing round, she sprang towards her. And then she 
 remembered Dardino 's letter and stopped again, her 
 fear flooded out by a sea of anger which surged over 
 her, blinding her to everything but her own wrong. 
 She had been cruelly cheated. She could never forgive 
 it.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BUT Mrs. Dereham had not really fainted. The sight 
 of Zoe dancing in the middle of the room and 
 dancing with an abandon which suggested scanter cloth- 
 ing was startling enough, but it was the relief at 
 finding her child which made her nearly collapse. For 
 she had lived through a period of such unutterable sus- 
 pense that she could never recall it afterwards without 
 a shudder. 
 
 Owing to illness her lesson was put off and she hur- 
 ried home burning w r ith the news of a companionship 
 she had been offered, for Zoe. It was to a girl of 
 Zoe's own age, the only child of a wealthy widower, 
 who would pay well and treat her like a daughter. 
 
 For some time she had realized that teaching was not 
 Zoe's vocation, and that her craving for a brighter life 
 must be satisfied if the girl was to be happy and con- 
 tented. But beyond the occasional visits to town, which 
 she did not approve of, she did not see how that could 
 be done, for she had begun to realize that the invitations 
 she hoped for were not, and would never be, forthcom- 
 ing. She had heard about the ball and knew enough 
 about the world to feel sure that others would follow the 
 Woods' example and ignore the girl they had always 
 invited so gladly before. She only hoped that Zoe had 
 heard and noticed nothing and welcomed the thought 
 of her leaving home, for this new and more congenial 
 post, as eagerly as she had opposed her doing so at 
 first. 
 
 And she got home soon after Zoe's departure to hear 
 that she had gone away. There was no doubt about it, 
 
 ill
 
 112 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 for, after listening to what her landlady had to say, 
 she went to the girl's room. The disordered drawers, 
 the missing clothes, told their tale, which she had hardly 
 realized when Mrs. Broome-Taylor arrived, full of hers, 
 though still anxious to hold out the olive branch. 
 
 But to that good lady's surprise, Mrs. Dereham had 
 the ingratitude to ignore her generosity in offering to 
 let bygones be bygones, and flouted her right valiantly. 
 
 For although she felt vexed with Zoe and had no 
 intention of applauding her, Mrs. Dereham gave rein to 
 her maternal feelings. For once though who knows, 
 she may have done so always she saw things with 
 Zoe's eyes and said so candidly, telling of her daily 
 complaints about Fanny's naughtiness, Nannie's inter- 
 ference and the galling espionage. She did not pause 
 to think that she was making an enemy of one of the 
 most vindictive women in Dunsworth. It is doubtful 
 if it would have made any difference if she had. 
 
 Having at last got rid of her, without speaking about 
 Zoe's flight, she made up her mind what to do. Al- 
 though Zoe had known nothing about Bardino's letter, 
 she had probably gone to her. She knew no one else in 
 London, and the landlady, peeping through her cur- 
 tains, had seen her go to the top of the road and board 
 a 'bus going townwards. 
 
 She started off without her tea, feeling every min- 
 ute 's delay fatal, as she recalled Zoe 's beauty and too 
 evident love of admiration. Supposing she had never 
 got to Madame Dardino's. That she had been waylaid 
 by a stranger; listened to some story told her by a 
 hospital nurse; or gone readily enough "on the spree" 
 with a good looking man. 
 
 The horrible details of the White Slave traffic, the 
 harassing stories of kidnapping and trickery, haunted 
 her every thought. She magnified every danger and 
 exaggerated every possibility. And over and above her
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 113 
 
 distress rang the wish that she had warned Zoe more 
 made her understand what a terrible fate awaited the 
 girl who too readily makes friends. For she realized 
 with horror that Zoe's beauty was the kind to attract 
 the man or woman out for prey that her very manner 
 invited the attempt. 
 
 She never quite knew how she got through the jour- 
 ney, arriving almost breathless at Madame Dardino's 
 and half afraid to ask for Zoe who might not 
 be there. 
 
 But she was! In the lion's den, perhaps, but safe 
 enough for the moment. 
 
 Her joy mingled with horror as she saw her dancing, 
 and she was very annoyed with Raynor for stopping 
 her. But the next instant she was glad of the support 
 of his arm as the room swam round, and she sank upon 
 the couch. 
 
 Then she heard the music stop abruptly and opened 
 her eyes to see a clearance before her and Zoe standing 
 some distance off, her eyes flaming, a frown upon her 
 flushed face. Why did she look so angry? Why 
 She remembered with sudden sympathy how the young 
 hate ridicule, and started up exclaiming to Dardino: 
 
 "I'm so sorry to behave so stupidly. But I hurried 
 too much, for I was not sure whether I should find Zoe 
 here, and we have an important engagement to keep 
 at once." 
 
 She glanced at Zoe as she spoke, and saw the angry 
 look melt into one of puzzled inquiry. 
 
 "We have to go to a house in Kensington," she went 
 on, rejoiced that she could say it, for she felt that Zoe 
 was very angry and feared she might refuse to leave, 
 if her curiosity were not too much for her. 
 
 "Oh, that's all right, Mrs. Dereham!" exclaimed 
 Dardino. "You seemed so upset I was afraid it was
 
 114 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 something worse than this naughty Zoe coming here 
 against your wish " 
 
 "I didn't," burst in Zoe. "I came because " 
 
 "I told you we had an engagement when I wrote," 
 interposed Mrs. Dereham quickly, anxious to spare her 
 child, for she saw that if she blurted out things as 
 they were Madame Dardino would merely laugh at her. 
 For her eyes told plainly enough that she would have 
 no scruple in hurting the girl's feelings. 
 
 "Well, you needn't mind about taking Zoe away/* 
 exclaimed Dardino. "She's been here quite a long 
 time, haven't you, dear?" 
 
 She smiled pleasantly enough at Zoe, who crimsoned 
 painfully. For there was no denying that the words 
 meant to imply that she had been there too long. Dar- 
 dino had thus taken the wind out of her sails. For 
 how could she ask for help when she was no longer 
 wanted ? 
 
 So she nodded a general good-by and turned to Dar- 
 dino: "Thank you so much for letting me stay. I 
 had forgotten all about our engagement, so it's a good 
 thing mother came, isn't it?" 
 
 Dardino looked puzzled. Judging by her expression, 
 she would have liked to say something nasty, but there 
 was a certain dignity about Mrs. Dereham which com- 
 pelled restraint. 
 
 "I'm glad you came," she smiled, holding out her 
 hand. "And you danced quite nicely. I must keep 
 my eye on you, or you'll be cutting me out al- 
 together ! ' ' 
 
 And then Zoe found herself on the landing with her 
 mother and Raynor. In spite of Dardino 's parting 
 words, she knew that she had been given her conge. 
 And, although she had never meant to go with her 
 mother, here she was following her as meekly as a lamb 
 to the slaughter.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 115 
 
 "Please don't trouble to come down," said Mrs. Dere- 
 ham, turning to Raynor. 
 
 "Oh, I'll see you off of course. Sorry you have to 
 go. And you must come again soon, Miss Zoe, and sing 
 another song. Promise." 
 
 "I don't know," she faltered. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Madame Dardino didn't tell me to." 
 
 "Oh, didn't she? But she meant it. You mustn't 
 mind what La Dardino says, sometimes. She has a lot 
 to think about now and if the truth were told she's 
 probably wishing everyone would follow your example, 
 for it's getting late and she has to be at the Alcazar 
 about nine." 
 
 He smiled kindly into her face and squeezed her 
 hand as she followed her mother down the steps into 
 the street. Then followed the distant rumble of the 
 crowded thoroughfare and the sound of their own foot- 
 steps along the street. But, a few yards from the house, 
 Zoe stopped, exclaiming: 
 
 "If you think I'm coming back to Dunsworth, I'm 
 not. I've done with that place. Wild horses wouldn't 
 drag me there. I hate it I hate everyone. And if 
 I didn't say so just now, it's because I didn't want 
 a scene, nor to give you away but of course I know 
 there is no engagement nothing " 
 
 "All the same there is if I care to make it," said 
 her mother quietly, taking her arm. "Come, you're 
 tired and so am I. We'll go and have a meal and you 
 shall tell me everything." 
 
 "You cheated me about Madame Dardino 's letter, 
 too," retorted the girl, twisting her arm away. "And 
 you had no right to do that. I might have given you 
 away about it, but I didn't." 
 
 "That was sweet of you. But you know, dear, that 
 it was for your good."
 
 116 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "No, I don't. I'm not a baby, and I shall never 
 forget your cheating me. Anyhow, I've left Duns- 
 worth for good. I've done with the Broome-Taylors 
 who" 
 
 "I know," said Mrs. Dereham quietly, as they began 
 to walk on; "I've heard everything. I'm sorry it hap- 
 pened like this, for you could have left quite pleasantly 
 at the end of the week." 
 
 "So you say, but you wouldn't have let me," sneered 
 Zoe. 
 
 Mrs. Dereham sighed. She saw that the girl was 
 in a difficult mood and that it would require all her 
 patience to cope with her. She longed to take her in 
 her arms and kiss away her frowns, to tell her how 
 she really sympathized, but she dared not risk it. So 
 she told her news instead, explaining that they could 
 go straight to Kensington Gore and interview Miss 
 Jacob, who was keeping house for her brother, Louis 
 Jacob, the well-known financier. 
 
 "I don't want it," cried Zoe. "I want to act. 
 Those people said I should do well I've tried teaching 
 and failed. It's cruel to make me go on with it." 
 
 It seemed impossible to make her understand how 
 different this would be. Her mind was set on car- 
 rying out her own wishes. Her head had been turned 
 by the applause and praise which had just filled her 
 ears. 
 
 "I'm going to take a room and look for work here," 
 she went on. "Some of those people will help me, I'm 
 sure. Perhaps Mr. Hailey will take me dancing and 
 singing and being jolly is all he wants I can get a 
 room in Beaumont Street, where the woman is very 
 nice. ' ' 
 
 "Did Madame Dardino tell you about it?" 
 
 "No it's someone I met on the 'bus. He said " 
 
 "Zoe! Zoe! What have I told you! You mustn't
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 117 
 
 listen to people you meet like that. Nor go to the 
 places they suggest nor " 
 
 "Why not? "-asked Zoe. 
 
 "Because you mustn't. It isn't proper. A nice girl 
 must be reserved and quiet. There are so many wicked 
 people in the world!" 
 
 Here was her opportunity to tell all she had been 
 wishing she had said. 
 
 But was it necessary now? The girl's safe arrival 
 at Madame Dardino's, in spite of her meeting with this 
 stranger she spoke of, proved there was something 
 about her that would guard her from all danger. So 
 why soil her simplicity? Why add to her childish van- 
 ity by making her realize that she might be considered 
 desirable enough for such dangers to assail her? Why 
 say anything? Wait just a little longer, and save 
 your own discomfort in speaking about such things. 
 
 "Well, I'm sure he isn't wicked!" exclaimed Zoe. 
 "He's staying at East Park and has a farm at Bognor, 
 and is quite ordinary and matter of fact, you see. And 
 you can't really want me to come back and face all 
 the horrid things Mrs. Broome-Taylor is sure to say." 
 
 "It is always wiser to turn a brave front to the ene- 
 my," replied her mother. 
 
 "I won't go. I hate the place. I want to go on the 
 stage!" stormed Zoe. 
 
 "You wouldn't really like it. Those people are not 
 your kind. They belong to a different class there is 
 nothing of the Bohemian about us." 
 
 "I'm not so sure of that. Besides, what class do I 
 belong to, now? The one I thought mine won't have 
 me I'm neither fish, fowl, nor good red herring. I 
 have no regular, ready-made position. I can be what 
 I like and I like to be an actress or nothing else." 
 
 "I cannot give my consent to that you are too 
 young, you do not realize what that life would be."
 
 118 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "I do. Didn't those people we have just left 
 look happier and better off than ourselves? Oh, do, 
 do, do say yes. I'll forget about the letter, if you 
 will." 
 
 "Try this other post first and then we'll see," smiled 
 Mrs. Dereham. "Suppose we go into that tea-shop and 
 have some soup. I'm hungry, for I rushed off not 
 knowing what had happened to you and feeling too anx- 
 ious to eat first." 
 
 "How silly! You might have known I should take 
 care of myself and sent you word. What could have 
 happened? No one would want to steal me for my 
 lovely clothes and you don't suppose I was likely to 
 commit suicide, do you?" sneered the girl. 
 
 "No. But it isn't surprising that I should feel anx- 
 ious and a little hurt that my child had not waited 
 to confide in me," responded her mother, as they en- 
 tered a tea-shop and made for a vacant table. 
 
 She looked very tired and white and ill. But her 
 eyes rested on Zoe's face with such tenderness and love 
 that the girl felt a sudden stir of remorse in her indig- 
 nant heart. She realized now for the first time that her 
 mother must have been really alarmed at her absence; 
 had perhaps suffered as much as herself, in her own 
 way. But, if she loved her so much, why wouldn't she 
 let her do what she wanted? 
 
 She asked that question aloud in a low, sullen voice 
 after glancing around at the unoccupied tables. For 
 it was getting late and nearly closing time. 
 
 "It's just because I love you that I don't wish it," 
 said Mrs. Dereham. "You went to ask Madame Dar- 
 dino for help, didn't you? Well, did she offer it? No 
 nor will she really. Though they made you sing 
 and dance and told you that you were wonderful and 
 would be successful, did any of them offer to engage 
 or help you! No! To tell the truth, though you may;
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 119 
 
 not like it, nor believe it they resented your presence. 
 Madame Dardino was glad enough for you to go they 
 saw that you were not one of them, that " 
 
 "That's because I was better than they thought. 
 Women are like that. I know I had enough of it at 
 school. They thought I should outshine them, as I 
 could I'm sure, and they didn't like it. But the men 
 were all right. You should have seen them! And 
 after all they have more power than women, and I could 
 get work through them." 
 
 She stopped as a waitress brought the steaming 
 bovril and hovered about. It was impossible to con- 
 tinue the conversation. But her mother's words had 
 sunk deeper than she thought and as she recalled them, 
 throwing furtive glances at the wan and still beauti- 
 ful face opposite, she told herself that they were true. 
 Dardino had seemed glad enough to get rid of her 
 glad enough to see her go. And even if men have more 
 power than women, women have tongues. Dardino as 
 a friend would be a great deal of use; it might be wise 
 to make quite sure of that. She felt tired and unhappy. 
 Those people had let her go without a word of encour- 
 agement the only man who had troubled, in spite of 
 the admiration the others had shown, was Raymond 
 Raynor, and he would never do what Dardino did not 
 wish. 
 
 How good her mother was ! Not a word of reproach, 
 not a hint of scolding nothing but tenderness and 
 love. She could never repay her for what she had done ; 
 was it fair to behave unkindly now ? Of course she had 
 silly, narrow ideas about the stage, but would it be 
 so easy to find work if Madame Dardino would not 
 help? 
 
 "It's very late," her mother said, as they left the 
 place. "But we might find Mr. Jacob in. They said 
 any evening. So I suggest a taxi there "
 
 120 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "You won't force me to take it, if I don't like them?" 
 asked Zoe. 
 
 "No. We've had enough of that kind of thing; 
 haven't we, dear? I blame myself for having per- 
 suaded you to stay with the Broome-Taylors, although 
 you were not there long. We'll run no such risk again. 
 Here's a taxi and we'll keep it to take us to the sta- 
 tion afterwards, shall we?" 
 
 In the friendly shelter of the cab, she put her arm 
 round the girl, and at her touch Zoe melted: 
 
 "Yes I suppose so," she murmured. "And oh, 
 mother, I do love you and I do want to be good, but I 
 was so wretched and they bullied me and I I am a 
 beast, you know. But there's something in me that 
 makes me hate the things you like, and and I can't 
 help it." 
 
 She was clinging to her mother's neck, the tears gush- 
 ing from her eyes, her heart bursting with disappoint- 
 ment in Dardino and an overwhelming pity for herself. 
 
 "I know, dear I ought to have helped you more. It 
 was too bad of me to expect an old head on these young 
 shoulders," soothed Mrs. Dereham, whose mother love 
 was strong enough for her to brave death and worse, 
 but not wise enough to make her break through the pru- 
 dery of generations which bound her round and round 
 as in a vice. 
 
 Understanding, friendship, true love slunk in the 
 background of their hearts, striving for an outlet but 
 striving in vain.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 TWO months had passed since Zoe became an in- 
 mate of the Jacob household and it seemed as 
 though her mother's hope, that she would settle down, 
 was to be fulfilled at last. 
 
 The luxury of the huge house appealed to her from 
 the first. She loved warmth and comfort like a cat. 
 The softness of the velvety carpets, the glitter of ex- 
 quisite glass and silver, the automatic precision of the 
 well-drilled servants made her purr with delight. 
 Moreover, she took to Rachel Jacob at once, and Rachel 
 took to her. 
 
 Louis Jacob was a big pot in the City, but a mere 
 nobody in Mayfair. But that did not trouble him at 
 all. Perhaps because he knew that he could cling as 
 easily as any other climber to the fringe of Society, 
 if he so wished nay, creep to its very center since 
 money is the "Open Sesame" of its once jealously 
 closed doors. 
 
 For money came to him as easily as it slipped through 
 the fingers of other men. Everything he touched 
 turned to gold. In financial circles he was known as 
 "the lucky Louis," and the sobriquet was not inappro- 
 priate in other ways. For he was as yellow as a 
 guinea, and as free from dross as current gold can be. 
 
 In appearance he did honor to his race which was 
 hinted at by the pathetic look in his dark eyes. He was 
 the very antithesis of what one expected from his name : 
 tall and thin, with a somewhat Roman nose, his brown 
 hair turning gray, his manner polished, his smile win- 
 ning. 
 
 121
 
 122 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Rachel was not at all like him. Perhaps she took 
 after the mother who died at her birth and who had 
 been replaced in the household by Miss Jacob a bird- 
 like woman full of nervous fads and fancies, who 
 adored her brother and was managed by her niece. For 
 Rachel was very small and plump, with the full devel- 
 oped bust, so common amongst Jewish girls which 
 foreshadows a middle age wallowing in fat, unless sub- 
 jected to the most rigid regime in dress and diet. 
 
 She was like a frolicking kitten, full of play and 
 mischief, impulsive and affectionate, yet capable enough 
 of using her claws if necessary. She seemed as fresh 
 and innocent as a daisy, just the kind of girl to get 
 on with Zoe, reflected Mrs. Dereham when she looked 
 into her smiling little face. For Rachel had followed 
 her aunt and father into the drawing-room, determined 
 to settle the matter for herself. 
 
 Her quick eyes ran appraisingly over Zoe's figure and 
 she told herself that, although this girl was really 
 pretty, she would merely act as a foil to her, since their 
 styles were so dissimilar. Besides, she looked a good 
 sport and anything but a prig. It did not suit Rachel's 
 book to have that sort! 
 
 So whilst the elders talked she drew Zoe aside into 
 the recess of the heavily curtained window and began 
 to catechise her briskly after the manner of school- 
 girls. 
 
 "What school did you go to?" 
 
 "Sainte Croix, near Bordeaux." 
 
 "Oh! I went to Brighton. But I didn't stay there 
 long. Six weeks were enough for me. No prison for 
 this child" 
 
 "Was it as bad as that?" 
 
 "Well, you know. Silly rules and that sort of thing. 
 They kicked up a fuss when my Cousin Reuben came 
 to see me. How did they know he was my cousin ? Did
 
 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 123 
 
 my father approve, and and you know the sort of 
 thing." 
 
 "Kather!" smiled Zoe. 
 
 "Then it's true about your speaking French? Peo- 
 ple tell such lies, you know, that I hardly believe " 
 
 "I know it as well as English." 
 
 "That's good. One thing in your favor." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Never mind why I'm keen to speak it myself, for 
 one thing." 
 
 She spoke as though she hoped to be questioned all 
 the same, and Zoe, versed in the ways of girls, responded 
 at once. 
 
 "But the real reason?" she asked. 
 
 "Hush," said Kachel, throwing an apprehensive 
 glance at the others. "There's someone. He's simply 
 adorable! Limpid eyes, thick mustache, a lovely face. 
 And he dotes on me, and he's French that's why." 
 
 "Can he speak English?" 
 
 "A little. But he runs off into French and it's hor- 
 rid not understanding. If it comes to well df we get 
 engaged, though I don't say we shall " 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "There's another English, just as nice!" 
 
 "H'm," smiled Zoe, thrilling at the news. " 'Em- 
 barras de richesse.' " 
 
 "How beautifully you say it! It's like cream slip- 
 ping off your tongue " 
 
 "Never mind that which do you like best?" went 
 on Zoe, her eyes eager. 
 
 "Both the same. And they're awfully gone on me. 
 So I find them hard to manage, like the others. That's 
 why I've taken to wearing this ring " 
 
 She held out a plump left hand. A diamond ring 
 sparkled on the third finger. Zoe looked puzzled as 
 she exclaimed:
 
 124 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "But that's the engagement finger! Are you 
 really?" 
 
 "No, silly. It's to keep the press off, that's all." 
 
 "What press?" 
 
 "My admirers, if you like. One must have a little 
 peace. Besides, it's such fun to see how puzzled they 
 are, and jealous! It's Minnie, my maid, who suggested 
 my doing it. And it gives Auntie's old friends some- 
 thing to wonder at." 
 
 "I wonder your father lets you " 
 
 "Pooh! he doesn't mind anything I do nor does 
 Auntie. Of course, they don't know my reason for 
 doing it. Only Minnie knows that, because she goes 
 out with me. But I was getting sick of her she's no 
 use at all for taking any of them off my hands. That 's 
 why I told Dad I wanted a companion." 
 
 "You said you wanted French and music." 
 
 "So I do, goosey. But I also want someone to play 
 with me. I love larking with those silly men, they're 
 so gullible! You can twist them round your finger 
 if you like. A girl can make any man she fancies fall 
 madly in love with her, if she puts her mind to it 
 don't you think?" 
 
 "I I don't know," faltered Zoe, her mind running 
 through her gallery of pictures: Roy Buckell Bert 
 Lindon and the many strangers whose names she did 
 not know. 
 
 "Well, you can. It's the greatest fun in the world, 
 I think." 
 
 "What does your father say and your aunt?" 
 
 "They don't know everything. Besides, they'd say 
 I'm only a child and see I mean nothing, really." 
 
 "Do they know the Frenchman?" 
 
 "No he came to my box." 
 
 "What box?" ejaculated Zoe, her eyes wide with curi- 
 osity and hope.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 125 
 
 "What box do you think? Don't you know Dad has 
 a lot to do with theaters and music halls? I can get 
 a box anywhere, at any time. It's mere luck I'm at 
 home to-night, but Minnie had a night out and Auntie 
 hardly ever goes, and there was no one to take me. 
 If you come, but of course you'll come, won't you?" 
 
 She slipped her arm coaxingly through Zoe's and 
 smiled up into the sparkling gray eyes. 
 
 "We should have such fun together I can tell you," 
 she went on. "And you'd see Gustave, and the others. 
 They always come to my box when they're there, and 
 then we have supper afterwards at a jolly little place 
 or tea, if it's a matinee! Only you mustn't tell that. 
 Auntie's a bit silly sometimes, though Minnie says she's 
 'no cause to be,' as there's no harm in what we do. 
 Nor is there. Considering we're put into the world 
 to marry, how can we do it if we don't get to know 
 men properly, before we decide which one to have. 
 And I'm so dull here that I must work off steam at 
 times. And so must you. I'm sure you know some- 
 body you like, and it's no good your looking as though 
 you didn't." 
 
 She laughed merrily, as hot blushes chased one an- 
 other over Zoe's face. And at the sound Mr. Jacob 
 smiled at Mrs. Dereham and exclaimed: 
 
 "They seem to have decided matters themselves, you 
 see. I haven't heard my girl laugh like that for days. 
 Old people are rather depressing for a child, when all's 
 said and done." 
 
 "Yes, you are!" cried Rachel, dancing across to him 
 and clinging to his arm. "That's why Zoe is coming 
 here. I like her, and she likes me, don't you? And 
 she speaks French so beautifully that I'm bound to do 
 so soon " 
 
 "I don't quite understand this sudden craze for study 
 in my child, Mrs. Dereham," he interposed, with an in-
 
 126 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 dulgent smile, "for she's really a lazy puss, but I shall 
 be delighted to keep your daughter if " 
 
 "From this minute!" interrupted Rachel. 
 
 "It's not fair of you to ask that," exclaimed Miss 
 Jacob. "Mrs. Dereham may not wish to part with her 
 so suddenly." 
 
 ' ' Why not ? " pouted the girl. * ' Zoe doesn 't mind. I 
 can lend her clothes, and things, until hers come, and 
 you'd like to stay, wouldn't you, Zoe?" 
 
 Zoe glanced appealingly at her mother, who was look- 
 ing anxiously at her. "I could stay, if mother doesn't 
 mind," she ventured hurriedly. "I was going to spend 
 the night with a friend, so I have my night things in 
 a bag downstairs." 
 
 "But what about the friend?" inquired Miss Jacob. 
 
 "Oh, she won't mind! I can go to her another 
 time." 
 
 "And you really think you'd like to live with us?" 
 asked Jacob, his eyes of the kind that say so much 
 more than they mean intent on hers. 
 
 "I should love it, I'm sure!" she replied, coloring 
 a little as she wondered what he thought of her, what 
 his look, which was more than mere interest in a child, 
 could really mean. Did he think her as pretty as 
 Rachel? Did he think her prettier? Could she make 
 him, old as he was, admire her as Rachel said a girl 
 could make any man? It would be fun to try fun to 
 be with Rachel, although she was conceited enough to 
 imagine every man she met in love with her fun, glori- 
 ous fun to have a box at any theater. 
 
 And so Mrs. Dereham left her after many injunctions 
 to do her best to settle down and give satisfaction. 
 
 "They seem so kind that you really ought to, this 
 time," she ended, as Zoe went downstairs with her. 
 And Zoe, who was full of good resolutions, backed by 
 delight at the glorious prospects held out to her, prom-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 127 
 
 ised readily enough as she had promised before to do 
 her best. She really meant to be a good girl if things 
 were not against her, as they always had been, and she 
 was deeply sorry for having given so much trouble 
 and yet wasn't it a good thing she had, after all? 
 
 Her eyes were moist and a little feeling of home- 
 sickness stirred in her heart as she watched the shabby 
 little figure go down the steps and slip into the night. 
 But how silly of her to mind! She could go down to 
 Dunsworth any day, or her mother could come here! 
 And she would show the people there that everybody 
 did not think her beneath notice, because she had to 
 earn her living. "Wait until they saw her from the 
 various pits and back rows of the circles leaning on 
 the velvet edge of the principal box in the house a 
 handsome man or two hanging over her chair! Wait 
 until they saw her there, many opera glasses focused on 
 her face, many whispers as to her name ringing in their 
 ears! They, poor things, could never do likewise, 
 money being more scarce with them than silly pride, or, 
 if not scarce, too precious to spend in what they called 
 a reckless way. 
 
 And Mrs. Dereham went home, her heart full of 
 thanksgiving. She was delighted she had found such 
 a good post for the child, one more worthy of her and 
 more likely to suit her. If anyone had told her then 
 that she had left her ewe lamb in the very last place in 
 the world where she ought to be, she would have 
 flouted them as readily as she had flouted Mrs. Broome- 
 Taylor earlier in the day. Even if she heard of Louis 
 Jacob's numerous irons in the theatrical fire, it would 
 not have alarmed her. Miss Jacob was so sensible, 
 Rachel such a child, Jacob, himself, a perfect gentleman ! 
 Zoe was in safe hands at last, poor child, and that un- 
 healthy craving for the stage would soon disappear 
 from her wild heart.
 
 128 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 But, although she went her way, telling herself that 
 "God's in His heaven all's well with the world," lit- 
 tle by little she began to notice a difference in the 
 people round her. They were more reserved, there was 
 a stiffness in some she had never seen before one or two 
 gave up their lessons unexpectedly. But the brave lit- 
 tle woman fought on through these trials, reflecting 
 that such difficulties were no greater really than before, 
 that she had allowed herself to adopt Zoe's outlook 
 which was foolish, considering her greater wisdom and 
 understanding. Moreover, the pain in her side which 
 had been intermittent for the last two years was be- 
 coming more regular, and perhaps affected her work 
 and her way of looking at things. A diseased body need 
 not necessarily mean a diseased mind, but the one may 
 affect the other for all that. 
 
 It never occurred to her that her imagination was not 
 at fault and that her popularity had really begun to 
 wane undermined at first by a mere whisper or two 
 from Mrs. Broome-Taylor regarding Zoe's behavior and 
 sudden eclipse. Then that Zoe was seen, as the girl so 
 proudly hoped, in a box at the theater with another girl. 
 They were both excited, laughing and joking with a 
 bevy of young men, attracting attention on all sides. 
 Three different people saw them thus, in three differ- 
 ent houses. One lunched in a restaurant where they 
 had a table, another met them in Piccadilly escorted by 
 two over-dressed youths, a third stood on the curb be- 
 side them and heard them fix up a supper with a 
 middle-aged fop. And the gossip grew, escaping none 
 but Mrs. Dereham. 
 
 After all, poor thing, who was she? There was a 
 mystery about her, you know. Was her husband dead? 
 Had she ever had one? Zoe was unmistakably fast, 
 and there is never a fire without smoke. 
 
 Just as rats forsake a sinking ship, so the few who
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 129 
 
 tried to defend Mrs. Dereham found themselves obliged 
 to save their own skins. 
 
 If you touch pitch some is bound to stick, and it is 
 folly to risk such a calamity which would include an 
 everlasting stain and affect your position in the com- 
 munity, just because you rather like and pity a person 
 whose past, now you come to think about it, has been 
 hushed in silence. 
 
 Meanwhile Zoe, the unconscious instrument of her 
 mother's torture, was making the most of life. The 
 craving for the stage, far from disappearing, loomed 
 large within her heart though for the time being she 
 was content to view the life from the front of the 
 footlights. 
 
 It was such a pleasant life, so full of laughter and 
 enjoyment! You had only to look your prettiest and 
 smile bewitchingly to win the admiring eyes of any 
 man you fancied in the vast audience below, and around, 
 your box where you sat like a young queen. The ex- 
 citement of fixing your gaze on a face and compelling 
 it to turn at your will, was only vied by the beating of 
 your heart when a loud rap sounded at the door and 
 the owner of the face peeped in, perhaps to claim ac- 
 quaintance with Mr. Jacob as his excuse for wishing 
 to know his daughter and her friend. 
 
 It was that excuse which quelled the sudden murmur 
 of Zoe's memory "A nice girl doesn't speak to stran- 
 gers." What rot that was! What a lot of harmless 
 pleasure girls missed by believing and obeying it! 
 What possible harm could there be in an hour's chat 
 with a nice man ; a cup of tea, or a plate of soup, taken 
 in his company? 
 
 So both she and Rachel, escorted sometimes by Min- 
 nie, but more often left to themselves, played their dan- 
 gerous game like two children playing with fire. In
 
 130 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 fact, the children, in knowing their risk, have the ad- 
 vantage. For Rachel, with all her greater experience 
 of the world, was just as ignorant of the true danger 
 they ran as Zoe herself. What she had learned from 
 Minnie's guarded and giggling remarks had merely 
 whetted her curiosity, and made the game more at- 
 tractive. Their young eyes scanned the faces of the 
 painted women of Piccadilly and Leicester Square with- 
 out one glimmer of light into the life they represented. 
 Rachel laughed and called them "hot stuff," and "no 
 better than they should be." Though when pressed to 
 say why, she merely shook her head, exclaiming: "Be- 
 cause they are. Can't you see, silly?" 
 
 Zoe had always been puzzled about these women 
 since the day she remarked about one of them to her 
 mother. For instead of the simple truth, which would 
 have dismissed the subject and all curiosity from her 
 mind, she had the shocked reply that you must never 
 speak about such creatures, wicked women that they 
 were, to anyone, and certainly never to a man; that 
 you must ignore them to the extent of not seeing them ; 
 that you must never touch them or let them touch you 
 had made her think of them all the more. 
 
 She wondered what mystery enveloped them, what 
 good it would do her to show contempt, when they eyed 
 her with a proud indifferent stare which made her feel 
 so small and stupid. She never saw one without re- 
 calling her mother's words and wondering what they 
 really meant. 
 
 Nor, although she was now free to look at the leering 
 faces of the numerous roues they met, to read certain 
 advertisements she came across, she never did so with- 
 out a lurking sense of doing wrong and the memory of 
 her mother's shocked eyes and hurried exclamation: 
 "Don't look; it isn't nice! Never mind why I tell 
 you so."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 131 
 
 Truly the world was full of mystery the more it 
 puzzled the more tempting it seemed! 
 
 It was like Pandora's box. A beautiful casket, full 
 of what? old-fashioned people, like her mother, shook 
 their heads and told her to be careful in opening it. 
 Others, like Rachel and her friends, laughed and cried: 
 "Eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die." 
 "Were there none who really knew what one ought to 
 do? 
 
 Why should you not know everything? Why should 
 you be squeamish and imagine that only evil things 
 were inside the box? And, even then, would it not 
 be better to see and fight them, than to go on fearing, 
 dreading, hiding until you had no pluck left to cope 
 with them if they suddenly confronted you?
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 SUCH a friendship, as Zoe's and Rachel's, is like a 
 house built on sand. One wind a little stronger 
 than another can blow it to the four quarters and leave 
 you stranded in the hurricane, or crushed by the 
 debris. 
 
 So whilst everything seemed smooth enough between 
 them a storm was gathering up. For Rachel was be- 
 ginning to resent Zoe's beauty and greater charm. 
 She was too conceited to believe that her evanescent 
 prettiness, commonly called "beaute de diable," could 
 be eclipsed by anyone without her bright coloring, dark 
 eyes and darker hair. She knew Zoe was beautiful, but 
 thought herself more beautiful and expected to queen it 
 everywhere with Zoe, a devoted maid of honor, merely 
 in the background. 
 
 But Zoe was one too many for her and anything but 
 willing to efface herself. Moreover, it is doubtful if 
 the inane youths Rachel thought so much of would have 
 allowed it. For they one and all began very soon to 
 show a preference for Zoe, whose coquetry was suffi- 
 cient to attract wiser men than themselves. 
 
 Gustave Boissier had been the first to succumb to 
 her charms, probably because she had more repartee 
 and spoke his tongue better than Rachel. There were 
 high words between the girls in consequence when Zoe 
 threatened to go, little caring, in her anger, whether 
 she went or not, and Rachel flung herself upon her neck 
 with fresh avowals of eternal friendship and devotion. 
 
 But, in spite of these passionate reconciliations, Zoe 
 flirted just as much, taking a delight in winning admi- 
 
 132
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 133 
 
 ration from Rachel's friends, and Rachel, growing more 
 jealous every day, began to think that Minnie's chap- 
 eronage was better than the companionship of another 
 girl. Her anxiety to learn French had worn off long 
 ago, and the discovery that Zoe's singing was better 
 than her own had given her a distaste for music. She 
 cared only for the wild rush of pleasure and became 
 more and more restless, and hard to please, as the days 
 went on, and Gustave's faithlessness grew more 
 apparent. 
 
 Mr. Jacob was too preoccupied to notice her discon- 
 tent or to realize that the girls were not always the 
 best of friends. Miss Jacob commented on her loss of 
 appetite and fits of irritability, putting them down to 
 the spring and want of change. She suggested the sea 
 one day and the next found them all installed at the 
 principal hotel in Folkestone, both girls full of high 
 spirits, the cynosure of all eyes, a little sorry, perhaps, 
 to leave their favorite haunts in town, but eager enough 
 for new scenes and new faces. 
 
 Thus it was that Zoe, coming back for a book, after 
 starting out for a walk, ran straight into Raymond 
 Raynor. 
 
 "Mr. Raynor!" she exclaimed, stopping with a bril- 
 liant smile. "Fancy you, here!" 
 
 "And you, Miss Zoe!" 
 
 "Yes! Isn't it strange," laughed Zoe. "We came 
 this morning." 
 
 * ' And we go, in an hour or two ! We 're resting just 
 now, but start work to-morrow." 
 
 Although he did not mention Dardino, she knew who 
 the "we" stood for and glanced apprehensively around, 
 half fearing to meet Dardino 's eyes full of the anger 
 she had seen in them last. 
 
 "And what are you doing here?" he asked, smil- 
 ingly.
 
 134 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 She poured out her story in hurried words, well 
 aware of his approving look. He had a way about him 
 which made you feel as though you were some object 
 of art up for valuation; as though he missed no flaw 
 in your anatomy. 
 
 "And so the stage is off !" he exclaimed, as she ended 
 with a little nervous laugh. 
 
 "Oh, dear no! I still long for it, but" 
 
 " 'Man proposes, God disposes,' eh?" 
 
 "For the present, perhaps. It's later on that I may 
 be able to do as I want. This kind of thing doesn't 
 last forever, and I don't mean to resume teaching or 
 anything horrid, I can tell you." 
 
 "You really mean it?" 
 
 "Of course. I I meant it before, only my mother 
 had got me with the Jacobs, and and I was afraid to 
 refuse lest no one would help me. You see, Madame 
 Dardino wasn't pleased that night and " 
 
 "Never mind that." He dropped his voice. "But 
 if you really intend trying I '11 give you a leg up only, 
 mum's the word. As you say, Madame Dardino isn't 
 likely to approve, so we mustn't upset her." 
 
 "She was very angry with me for copying her, 
 wasn't she?" 
 
 "Oh, I don't know. We're all human and don't like 
 feeling our noses put out of joint. It stands to rea- 
 son. If you become a celebrity you'll be like it too, 
 some day, when a pretty young girl comes along and 
 dances and sings as well, if not better, than your- 
 self" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Raynor, I didn't really do that?" 
 
 "Well perhaps not quite. But ' 
 
 "But? " She hung on the word with eagerness. 
 
 "But what's the good of talking to me when old 
 Louis Jacob can get you in anywhere. His name is a 
 powerful one in our world."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 135 
 
 "Ah! but he doesn't approve of girls like me going 
 on the stage. He's very particular, too. Although he 
 knows heaps and heaps of theatrical people, they never 
 come to the house. He says we may look at them as 
 much as we like, on the stage but not off. So there 
 you are!" 
 
 "H'm! Pity. Well, remember what I said. A few 
 good lessons with Leonora and who knows what you'd 
 do as a dancer? And for your voice, if " 
 
 "Leonora! The great Leonora! Would she teach 
 me?" 
 
 "If I ask her to, most certainly," he smiled. "But 
 what's the good. You're settled where you are, until 
 one of those nice young men marries you " 
 
 "What if I don't marry him?" asked Zoe, as red 
 as a peony. 
 
 "Ah! I haven't seen you in your boxes at the the- 
 ater for nothing, young lady! Nor at the Carlton! 
 Nor at Maxim's! Nor bowling along in the Jacob 
 car one of a merry party in spite of Papa Jacob be- 
 ing so very particular, which is a little surprising, con- 
 sidering his daughter's goings on." 
 
 "That's only fun!" she stammered, wondering how 
 he could have seen her without her seeing him. 
 
 "And what is marriage, then?" he laughed, his eyes 
 compelling hers as the color rushed to her brow. 
 
 "I I don't know." 
 
 "Perhaps you prefer quantity to quality," he teased, 
 evidently enjoying her confusion, and giving her full 
 credit for the innocence she looked. 
 
 "I don't want to be tied to one man for life, yet " 
 
 "That's not necessary anyhow," he smiled ambigu- 
 ously. 
 
 "I know. But it's such a bore having to get di- 
 vorced. So I'm not going to risk it until I've had my 
 fling. Rachel says it's the only way we women can
 
 136 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 get to know what men are like just as men sow their 
 wild oats before they settle down." 
 
 She said it so simply that he stare'd in amazement. 
 Was she the child she looked, his eyes seemed to ask, 
 or was she what? 
 
 "Take care," he laughed. "Men were deceivers 
 ever! You might find yourself hoist with your own 
 petard. Men, having their fling, often do to their 
 cost. And so you may fare the same, you know." 
 
 "I'm not afraid! I can take care of myself; I have 
 had heaps of adventures already and nothing out of 
 the way has happened. I rather wish it would, when 
 people are so mysterious and and so sure terrible 
 things ought to." 
 
 "Do you do you?" he muttered, his face so close 
 that she felt his breath upon her cheek and drew back 
 from the mixed smell of tobacco and spirits it car- 
 ried. 
 
 "And I'm not giving up my dream of the stage," 
 she went on, coloring beneath his strange gaze which 
 made her heart thump noisily. "When I tire of this 
 life, as I'm sure to some day, I shall see what can be 
 done." 
 
 "Get Mr. 'Jacob to help you, and I'll do my little 
 bit, too," he smiled. 
 
 "Thank you. I'll remember." 
 
 "Do. The Alcazar Buidings will always find me," 
 he added, turning away as Dardino's voice floated 
 towards them from a doorway. 
 
 And Zoe sped back to Rachel and Miss Jacob, her 
 heart singing with renewed belief in herself, renewed 
 hope for the future, and the determination to carry 
 out her threat the next time Rachel and she fell out. 
 
 And she certainly had no idea how near that mo- 
 ment was, nor how busily the fates were engaged with 
 her affairs.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 137 
 
 For she found Kachel and her aunt counting the lit- 
 tle boats upon the water, both as good-tempered as they 
 could be. 
 
 "What a time you've been," said Rachel, making 
 room for her on the seat. 
 
 Zoe explained about her meeting with Raynor, Aunt 
 Lena listening with a disapproving look on her kind 
 face. 
 
 "You say they're going?" she asked, as Zoe 
 ended. "Well, it's a good thing Dardino is a bad 
 woman. ' ' 
 
 "Bad!" ejaculated Rachel, laughing. "Of course 
 she's not a saint but that's why she's rather attractive. 
 I hate goody-goody people. And how is she bad? Be- 
 cause she's quarreled with her husband or ?" 
 
 "You're too young to understand," said the little 
 woman, who was more simple and more childlike than 
 either of the two young creatures beside her. "But 
 she's bad because she isn't proper she doesn't do 
 what's right. She she's fast, too. I'm sure that 
 Zoe's mother can't approve of her." 
 
 "That's nothing," exclaimed Zoe. "Mother believes 
 everyone wicked who makes the best of life. You can 
 stuff her up with any story you like and she'd believe 
 it. People who live a quiet, humdrum life like that 
 always do, I think. They are so easily shocked that 
 they look for shocks in everything new to them. And 
 that's why they think La Dardino wicked because she 
 lives away from her husband and has a man as com- 
 panion instead of a woman because she dresses bet- 
 ter than they do, and has funny friends, and smokes 
 and laughs loudly, and drinks wine instead of water, per- 
 haps! And all the time they're just as bad for think- 
 ing horrid things, and trying to make out that white 
 is black when it's only just a little bit gray." 
 
 She was flushed and excited. Dardino had been an-
 
 138 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 gry with her, but for all that she was not going to 
 have her run down like that. 
 
 "I'm sorry, dear," said Aunt Lena, laying her hand 
 on hers. "I had forgotten Madame Dardino was your 
 friend, and I must say I only repeated what is said." 
 
 "I know. If people would find out things for them- 
 selves it would be much better, wouldn't it?" 
 
 "Anyhow, Madame Dardino wouldn't hurt us," 
 chimed in Rachel, "and I'm sorry she isn't staying. 
 We could have got up one or two jolly evenings, in- 
 stead of which I'm afraid it's going to be deadly 
 dull." 
 
 "All the better," smiled Aunt Lena. "You came 
 here for rest." 
 
 "It isn't rest to be bored," pouted the girl. 
 
 "Never mind," laughed Zoe, "we can run over to 
 Boulogne one day." 
 
 "Yes, let's!" 
 
 "You'd have to go without me," said Aunt Lena. 
 "I hate the sea, as you know." 
 
 "Of course! Isn't Zoe with me to go about like 
 that? Let's go to-morrow, Zoe. It's smooth enough, 
 and Minnie can come too if Auntie feels anxious." 
 
 "I don't think I ought to let you," demurred Aunt 
 Lena. 
 
 "Why ever not? We're as safe there on a steamer 
 as in town. Safer, in a way, for you know where 
 we are." 
 
 "Perhaps Aunt Lena is afraid of our being kid- 
 napped!" said Zoe. 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked the little lady, glancing 
 anxiously from her to Rachel. 
 
 "That's what you were thinking, isn't it? I'm sure 
 that's what mother would. She's always thinking 
 things like that. But I ask you why would anyone 
 kidnap me, a poor girl with a huge appetite? Though
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 139 
 
 I own Rachel is different and that anyone knowing 
 her to be the rich Miss Jacob might want to get hold 
 of her until a big ransom were forthcoming. But I 
 promise nothing of the kind shall happen. I have 
 strong fists and good lungs!" 
 
 She smiled into Aunt Lena's face, wondering why 
 she looked so solemn. As if she had something horrid 
 on her mind, or a nasty dose of medicine to take. 
 
 It was too rough to go to Boulogne next day, and 
 the nexti, and the girls found themselves at a loss 
 for amusement. A second-rate company was perform- 
 ing at the Pleasure Gardens and there was little else 
 to help them while away the time which hung heavy 
 on their hands. Moreover, Rachel really felt ill and 
 too tired to do anything so that the proposed trip was 
 put off indefinitely. The life she had been leading had 
 begun to tell upon her and it required all Zoe's small 
 stock of patience to contend with her peevishness. 
 
 But Zoe was exceptionally good-tempered just then, 
 although she said she was bored stiff. She dreamed of 
 a golden future such as Dardino's, and dwelt on Ray- 
 nor's offer of help as on an accomplished fact. That 
 she did not avail herself of it at once by picking a quar- 
 rel with Rachel and clearing off, was due to the sudden 
 sense of prudence due to her experience the night she 
 went to town. She remembered how helpless she had 
 felt, how relieved really when her mother had appeared ; 
 and made up her mind to only leave when she had laid 
 her plans and filled her purse. In another month she 
 would get her first quarter's salary the fourth of two 
 hundred pounds ! It was worth while waiting for that, 
 as Leonora's lessons would be expensive enough. And 
 then perhaps, as Raynor had said, Mr. Jacob would 
 help too, if her mother consented, as she certainly must 
 now. 
 
 She had not practiced her dancing since she had been
 
 140 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 with Rachel. Once she had danced in the huge ball- 
 room where she had the space she craved and a suit- 
 able setting, but had met with so little enthusiasm that 
 she had never felt the desire to do so again. For Aunt 
 Lena had kissed her with reserve and a note of disap- 
 proval in her kind words of thanks, whilst Rachel had 
 criticised her freely and omitted to praise, which prob- 
 ably meant jealousy, she told herself, but was annoy- 
 ing all the same. 
 
 But here, where there was nothing to keep her up 
 late and send her to bed, tired, she began her evolu- 
 tions again. And one afternoon, when Rachel had gone 
 to lie down, she started off for a long walk along the 
 sands to discover a secluded little bay where the golden 
 floor was as firm as boards and seemed laid for her. To 
 strip off her shoes and stockings and begin to dance 
 was the work of a few seconds. Here, with the tall 
 cliffs behind, the glimmering sea in front and not a 
 human being within sight, she danced for the mere 
 pleasure of dancing, and sang, accompanied by the mu- 
 sic of the waves. 
 
 The exercise and the delight it had given her, made 
 her so radiantly beautiful that Rachel eyed her sus- 
 piciously, thinking that a mere walk could not have 
 made her look like that. 
 
 "Did you meet no one, no one at all?" she asked. 
 
 "Not a soul worth looking at," laughed Zoe. "You 
 know the place is empty who could I meet?" 
 
 "I don't know. I thought perhaps Gustave or one 
 of the others might come down. You'd think so, 
 wouldn't you? If they are as 'gone' as they pretend 
 to be." 
 
 "I don't know that I want them. And how can they 
 come down when they don't know where we are?" said 
 Zoe, quite truthfully, not noticing Rachel's peculiar 
 smile as she retorted sharply:
 
 141 
 
 "You'd be glad enough if they were here, I know." 
 
 "Perhaps. But as they aren't, it doesn't trouble me. 
 Come out for a bit. It'll do you good." 
 
 "No, thanks. But don't stay in for me, I want to 
 read this book. There's no fun in walking here, only 
 a lot of old fogies about. I can't bear this place. It's 
 too bad of the others to stay away and of you to be 
 so pleased with it." 
 
 "I'm not. I only make the best of a bad job," 
 smiled Zoe, her mind on the little bay and her next visit 
 to it. Then she would take her bathing costume and 
 feel the wild winds go through and through her. 
 
 "Brighton is nicer. I'll make Daddie take us there, 
 when he comes." 
 
 "Good! That'll be jolly!" said Zoe, as she went 
 out. 
 
 She ran straight into Gustave Bossier near the en- 
 trance, and burst into merry laughter. 
 
 "Talk of the" she began. 
 
 "Ah, you were talking of me!" he exclaimed, seiz- 
 ing her hand. "How charming of you. And I was 
 thinking of you." 
 
 "I don't say I was saying anything nice," smiled 
 Zoe. 
 
 ' ' Oh, but you were ! And I ever since I got Miss 
 Rachel's letter I have been thinking of you wishing it 
 had been from you." 
 
 "Did Rachel write?" asked Zoe, understanding at 
 last what Rachel had meant by her complaint. 
 
 "But, yes! How else should I be here! I came at 
 once. I hurried, how I hurried for the train, and I 
 have just come from my hotel to present myself to you 
 all when my eyes beheld the angel of my heart!" 
 
 "Don't be silly. Come and be presented now. Only 
 I don't know what Aunt Lena will say." 
 
 "That's all right. I met Mr. Jacob yesterday. He
 
 142 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 said his people were in Folkestone, and I said I was 
 coming " 
 
 "Is it true?" she queried, her eyes running over his 
 well groomed figure, his smiling face, his frank eyes 
 so full of admiration on her. "Well, it may be. 
 Come." 
 
 She stepped back towards the room she had just left, 
 but he stopped her eagerly, as though seized with a 
 new idea, and exclaimed in French: 
 
 "No, no! Not yet. It is you I came to see, Ma- 
 demoiselle." 
 
 "But Rachel wrote," she replied, in the same lan- 
 guage, feeling it safer there. 
 
 "But^-yes." 
 
 "She is the one you ought to see." 
 
 "Yes perhaps. But one never wants the thing one 
 can have too easily. The letter said 'we' are deadly 
 dull and pining for our friends. I hoped that you " 
 
 "No," laughed Zoe, "I was not pining for you." 
 
 "Cruel. When I was dying for you!" 
 
 "You are rehearsing beautifully. Rachel will be 
 pleased." 
 
 "Rachel! Bah! I do not think of her. It's you 
 whom I adore!" 
 
 "Don't talk nonsense," she exclaimed, moving away 
 as somebody passed them. "If these people under- 
 stand, they'll be horrified." 
 
 "Bother the people! Where can we go? Are you 
 walking now?" 
 
 "No. They expect me in for tea. You had better 
 come in, too." 
 
 "No. I have changed my mind. I do not want to 
 see them. I have seen you. I shall go away to my ho- 
 tel, and wait for you to walk with me. When will it 
 be? To-night say yes to-night?" 
 
 She hesitated, glancing back at the closed doors.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 143 
 
 Nobody was about. They might have been alone in the 
 whole building but for the hum of voices from the va- 
 rious rooms around. 
 
 "You won't come in?" she asked. "Well, good-by. 
 I'll tell Rachel you're here." 
 
 "No, please not yet. You're not kind. Why can- 
 not we have a few hours to ourselves first? You know 
 that she that she " 
 
 "Will take care we don't," smiled Zoe. "I know 
 that, but what is it you said? One never wants a 
 thing one cannot have too easily. So if I said yes, 
 you'd be sick of the idea before to-night comes." 
 
 "Ah, no! I would count the minutes, really. Say 
 yes." 
 
 She was amused and at the same time flattered by 
 his persistence. Moreover, she was really delighted to 
 see him. She would have been just as delighted to see 
 any man she knew, for although she had managed to 
 amuse herself the last few days without masculine so- 
 ciety, the mere sight of him had revived all her long- 
 ings for it. The look in his eyes, the touch of his hand, 
 the soft pleading of his voice fascinated her completely, 
 and she had merely fenced with him to prolong the 
 pleasurable sensation of her feelings and to make quite 
 sure of his. 
 
 "I don't see how I can," she demurred. "We dine 
 alone in our own room and go to bed early." 
 
 "What time?" he asked. 
 
 "About ten. There's nothing else to do." 
 
 "But if you went for a walk with me or a row on 
 the smooth moonlit waters or " 
 
 "It's impossible," she murmured, looking into his 
 ardent eyes and feeling her heart leap to him. "I 
 should never hear the end of it if I did." 
 
 "Who would know? One hour by the sad sea waves 
 sad because they will not be so close to my Zoe, as
 
 144 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 I long to be. One little stolen hour and you would be 
 snug in your bed again and I I should be happy as 
 I haven't been for days." 
 
 What prudence she still possessed failed to work. 
 Nobody could be shocked at an hour's walk or if they 
 were, they had no right to be. She could creep down- 
 stairs quite easily, out along the front and meet him, 
 anywhere. He was not a stranger now. She had 
 known him for weeks. He was just a nice, kind boy, 
 very polite, very devoted, very charming. And it 
 would be such fun to have their little secret to them- 
 selves, to know that all the time Rachel was worry- 
 ing about his paying no attention to her letter the sly 
 thing that he was in Folkestone, and not caring a straw 
 for her. 
 
 "Well," she said, "I'll come." 
 
 "You mean it?" 
 
 "Of course. Ten o'clock or rather a few minutes 
 after, at the first shelter. But only till eleven. And 
 now if you don't want to see the others you must go. 
 No, I'll say nothing, you bet!" 
 
 She turned back, not waiting to hear his delighted 
 reply, though she did not go back to the sitting-room 
 until he had gone. Then she explained that she had 
 returned because she had not realized how near tea- 
 time it was. 
 
 It was evident that Rachel was quite unconscious of 
 Gustave's proximity, and Zoe studied her face thought- 
 fully, her lip curled and her heart exultant. Not that 
 she was naturally spiteful, nor anxious to give pain. It 
 was more the humor of the whole thing that appealed 
 to her than anything else. Besides, there was some- 
 thing in her which made her desire to secure any man's 
 admiration to take it from any other girl. She hated 
 herself for the feeling whenever she realized it and 
 resolved to fight against it but the flesh was weak.
 
 145 
 
 She could no more resist the temptation when it came 
 than she could prevent its coming, and contempt for 
 Rachel's undignified love-sickness stifled whatever com- 
 punction she may have felt on her account. 
 
 The hours passed all too slowly until bedtime. 
 There was the usual drive between tea and dinner, the 
 discussion of Aunt Lena's new gown during the meal, 
 the aimless conversation as they sat on the balcony after 
 it, and watched the people passing to and fro along 
 the front. 
 
 This was the time when they could have had some 
 fun, thought Zoe, if Rachel had not been so stupid 
 and Aunt Lena so prudish. For heaps of nice young 
 people then came to light. Men who seemed quite pre- 
 sentable walked with girls whom they already knew 
 as prim and proper damsels in the daytime, reading 
 sedately in the various shelters, or walking, three and 
 four abreast, with their bathing costumes under their 
 arms. 
 
 At last! Aunt Lena was the first to move. Then 
 Rachel. And Zoe found herself in her room, waiting, 
 with her hat on, for the moment to creep out, and down 
 and into the moonlit night. 
 
 Her heart beat loud with excitement and the deli- 
 cious sense of adventure. She felt very brave and 
 strong. She pictured Gustave's face alight with eager- 
 ness, felt his hand upon her arm and thrilled. What 
 fun they would have whilst Rachel was thinking him 
 miles away in London! 
 
 No one noticed her in the hall, nor near the door. 
 Beyond that she did not care. Had she met Minnie, 
 or caught sight of Jenkins the chauffeur, she would 
 have pretended she was only going to post a letter. 
 She really had one, addressed to her mother, which 
 she was going to slip into the letter-box near the first 
 seat where , Gustave awaited her. But neither of them
 
 146 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 were about. So she walked sedately through the hall 
 and out into the street, with one swift glance around 
 and an indrawn breath of intense relief as the heavy 
 door swung to behind her. 
 
 A cab drew up as she reached the pavement. But 
 cabs were always stopping there, with their freight 
 from the station. It was a busy hotel, although the 
 place was empty and the season not yet on. She only 
 hoped somebody young, and nice, had come this time, 
 instead of the old men and women out of the Ark. 
 Somebody who would brave Aunt Lena's standoffish- 
 ness, and liven up matters a bit.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THEY were by no means a solitary couple. Love 
 was in the air and the cold moon soared indiffer- 
 ent over all. 
 
 Not that love really stirred Zoe's heart. She was 
 merely playing with it, enjoying to the full Gustave's 
 declarations, his unending admiration. But even as she 
 listened to his outpouring she was thinking of other 
 things, comparing him with this or that man who passed, 
 wondering what Rachel would say if she could see 
 them. 
 
 He was very charming and very polite. Not even 
 her mother could have objected to his manner, and it 
 was quite plain they were doing nothing extraordinary, 
 since all these others were about, whispering love's 
 young dream in varying moods and keys. 
 
 It would perhaps be more exciting, and just as true 
 to nature, to tell of a golden hour of passion followed 
 by a fell attempt on his part to keep her beyond her 
 time. But Gustave Boissier was a cautious young man 
 who understood most women, and fancied he knew ex- 
 actly how to net a mere butterfly like Zoe. 
 
 Therefore, he made no attempt to kiss her beyond 
 brushing her fingers with his lips when she fed him 
 playfully with the chocolates he had brought and 
 turned towards the hotel at the first stroke of eleven. 
 
 As he anticipated, no doubt, she resented his haste 
 and expressed her regret that time was up. It had 
 been lovely the night was beautiful, it seemed a shame 
 to go in. Yes, it was a shame, he agreed, but if she 
 
 147
 
 148 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 did not tell the others that he was there they could 
 meet again, perhaps run over to Boulogne. 
 
 "Yes, let's!" she exclaimed, her eyes dancing. "Ra- 
 chel wants to go but it would be much nicer with you 
 alone !" 
 
 ' ' You really mean it f " 
 
 "Of course! I never say what I don't mean that 
 sort of thing, at any rate." 
 
 "You would come away with me like that!" he 
 ejaculated, surprised. 
 
 "Why not? It's only a day's trip and it would be 
 such fun!" 
 
 "How could you explain your absence?" 
 
 "Easily. I could go for a walk and get lost. Or 
 meet an old friend, or receive an invitation from 
 another to meet her at Hythe, or Boulogne itself, 
 or" 
 
 "Oh, you English girls!" he laughed. "So proper, 
 so easily shocked and so guarded and yet so clever at 
 this kind of thing!" 
 
 "You're horrid," she pouted. "What harm is there 
 in it?" 
 
 "None. I adore you all the more for what you would 
 do for me. When shall we take this trip ? ' ' 
 
 He drew her aside into the shadow of a deserted 
 shelter. The disappointment she had felt at his seem- 
 ing coldness, despite his ardent words, vanished from 
 her heart. The spell of his personality held her as 
 in a web. 
 
 "To-morrow?" she faltered. 
 
 He seized her hands. Under the calm moonlight his 
 face showed white and his eyes gleamed. A vision of 
 the couple she had fled from in Sainte Croix flashed 
 across her memory and roused her fear. She recalled 
 Buckell's hot breath and fierce clutch. 
 
 "Let me go let me go!" she panted.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 149 
 
 "You are adorable! adorable!" he whispered, 
 holding her tighter. 
 
 ''And I do not mind if you say no, for what one can- 
 not get easily one always wants. Promise to meet me 
 to-morrow at ten, near the station, shall we say?" 
 
 "If you let me go yes " 
 
 "You wiU not kiss me?" 
 
 "No no " 
 
 She pulled herself free and began to run, afraid to 
 look back until she reached the hotel. Then she 
 straightened her hat and walked in quietly, looking as 
 though she could not say "bo" to a goose, still less 
 run away from one. 
 
 She held her breath as she went upstairs and crept 
 along the landing, past Miss Jacob's room, and Rachel's, 
 towards her own which was at the far end. 
 
 Then something horrible happened. The sitting- 
 room door opened noiselessly and she was confronted 
 by Mr. Jacob. He had never looked so tall before, nor 
 so severe. His kind eyes were full of anger, his fin- 
 gers felt like steel as they closed round her arm and 
 drew her into the room. 
 
 "Where have you been?" he asked. 
 
 "To post a letter to my mother," she answered 
 glibly, glancing past him to Aunt Lena and Rachel 
 who sat huddled together, on the couch, like frightened 
 sheep. 
 
 "Does it take an hour to walk to the pillar box?" 
 
 "No. But it is such a lovely night, I went for a 
 walk." 
 
 "At this time! By yourself!" 
 
 She braved his eyes and lied as valiantly as she knew 
 how. Lied because it was easier than the truth, and 
 she could not help herself. But she quailed beneath 
 the scorching contempt in his face, and wondered 
 vaguely what he knew, as he retorted angrily:
 
 150 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 "That isn't true!" Then as she opened her lips to 
 speak: "Heavens, girl you know you lie! "Who were 
 you with?" 
 
 Even in that moment of confusion she could not re- 
 press a little feeling of delight at the thought of Ra- 
 chel's annoyance, as she stammered: 
 
 "A a friend Mr. Gustave Boissier." 
 
 "Gustave!" cried Rachel, springing up and rushing 
 at her like a cat about to spring. "Oh, you horrid 
 wretch, you mean thing, you " 
 
 "Hush!" said her father, waving her back. 
 
 "She has stolen him from me! I meant to tell you 
 all about him, but now now ' 
 
 "Now, my child, you will listen to me and keep your 
 tears for a more worthy object. When you found Zoe 
 was not in her room just now, and came to tell Aunt 
 Lena, you were surprised to find her up and me with 
 her. You asked why I had come so unexpectedly, now 
 I will tell you I came to save you girls from the at- 
 tentions of this Gustave Boissier. Yes, it surprises you, 
 I know, but I heard all about him yesterday when he 
 was pointed out to me in a restaurant which he was 
 leaving, unfortunately, as I went in. He had been 
 overheard talking to a couple of other men about you 
 saying he knew where you were, but would not tell 
 that he, for one, would see you to-day. And when 
 my companions saw my surprise and anger they told 
 me more things it seemed impossible I had not heard, 
 or known, or approved. They could not believe I knew 
 so little. I was furious with them all. I made inquir- 
 ies everywhere. I came here doubting my own sister, 
 believing she had helped you in your shameful doings. 
 And I find her as astounded as myself. I thought you 
 both simple, innocent girls: I have discoverec 1 you to 
 be as fast as the lowest chorus girls." 
 
 "Oh, Father, no " cried Rachel, her sobs bursting
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 151 
 
 out afresh. "I didn't mean any harm really. It's Zoe 
 who who " 
 
 "Yes, I know Zoe has misled you," he interrupted, 
 glancing at Zoe's sullen face. "I know that I mis- 
 placed my trust in her and that, as her life has been 
 less sheltered than yours, she could not be so ignorant 
 of the ways of the world. But you are not free from 
 blame. You deceived your aunt and me. You have 
 behaved as no nice girl should no girl of mine, at any 
 rate." 
 
 "I saw no harm," began Zoe. 
 
 "Yet you have taught my daughter things she never 
 knew. Your conversation is about things and people 
 one usually ignores, at least, so I have just heard from 
 Miss Jacob," he added quickly as she glanced in amaze- 
 ment from him to Rachel. "Your knowledge of 
 Madame Dardino's private affairs proves that You 
 lie as easily as you tell the truth; you have made 
 Rachel's name a byword in men's clubs." 
 
 "That isn't true," she cried, "if her name is that, 
 it was so before I came, I'm sure of it. I haven't done 
 anything worse than she has, and she knew Gustave 
 Boissier first " 
 
 "Even if it is so, you have done nothing to prevent 
 the acquaintance or to make her change her ways. Yet 
 you must have known what she, baby as she is, although 
 only a few months younger than yourself, could never 
 have dreamed of." 
 
 "I have told her nothing, it is she " 
 
 "Just so. You have told her nothing to show her 
 she did wrong, if she did. Which I doubt, as your 
 name is coupled with hers in all I'm told. As for 
 this man Boissier he has a shocking reputation both 
 here and in his country, the police have been watch- 
 ing him for some time. He is the last man in the world 
 to go out with alone, and it is only by mere chance
 
 152 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 that you are safe within these walls now. Here, so 
 close to France you might have disappeared for ever 
 from your friends " 
 
 "He isn't that kind of man! He's really nice. And 
 we were not the only ones out either, and I see no 
 harm in " 
 
 "That's enough. You will not see Gustave Boissier 
 again whilst you are in my charge. ' ' 
 
 "I don't want to " she faltered, recalling the thrill 
 of fear Gustave had roused in her and wondering if 
 what she heard was true. What had he done to be 
 wanted by the police? How white and shocked Aunt 
 Lena looked. And Rachel no longer pretty with her 
 tear-stained face, what a mean little sneak she was ! As 
 for this man, whom she had thought kind, he was as 
 unjust and unfair as every one else she had known 
 
 "I have written to your mother whilst I was waiting 
 for you," he was saying, "and I told her that you are 
 returning home to-morrow. Miss Jacob will take you 
 to town by the ten thirty and see you into the train for 
 Dunsworth, where I have asked Mrs. Dereham to meet 
 you" 
 
 She listened with anger surging in her heart. She 
 would not go to Dunsworth. She would stay in town. 
 How dared he treat her like a baby when he had just 
 told her she was not one. 
 
 "And now you had better go to bed," he said as he 
 opened the door and stood aside for her to pass. But 
 she hesitated, filled with a sudden desire to defend her- 
 self, an overwhelming reluctance to be dismissed like 
 that. 
 
 "Are you sending me away?" she faltered, a lump 
 rising in her throat. 
 
 "I must. You are not a suitable companion for 
 Rachel. But you need not be afraid, you shall have 
 a quarter's salary in lieu of notice, and
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 153 
 
 "It isn't that," she retorted quickly, her face aflame. 
 "It's the disgrace I mean, and and I don't know what 
 my mother will say. I only met him by accident 
 really and I I " 
 
 She glanced at Rachel, hoping for some word from 
 her; at Aunt Lena. Both sat like graven images, their 
 faces devoid of expression, their eyes intent on Mr. 
 Jacob. 
 
 "You should have thought of all this before," he 
 said. 
 
 "But I I" 
 
 "There is no reason why we should disturb the 
 whole hotel. Most people are in bed." 
 
 The door closed silently in her face, and she stood 
 alone in the dim corridor. Waves of fury flowed 
 over her; a longing to throw herself against the closed 
 door and beat on it with her fists, to scream aloud and 
 proclaim Rachel a sneak, Aunt Lena a coward, Mr. 
 Jacob an unjust bully, held her motionless until reason 
 awoke slowly in her mind. 
 
 "Obey," it said, "you gain nothing by resistance. 
 YOU wanted to leave, anyhow. Raynor will help you." 
 
 But Miss Jacob was going to take her to town; to 
 see her into the Dunsworth train. At Dunsworth her 
 mother would meet her and all the old struggle would 
 begin again, unless she could find some way of escape. 
 
 She could hardly drag herself along to her room, 
 where with a low cry of dispair she flung herself upon 
 her bed and burst into tears. 
 
 It was cruel, cruel, cruel! Everything was against 
 her, every one! 
 
 Mad thoughts clamored in her brain. She would 
 do something desperate to make them all sorry and 
 ashamed. Throw herself into the sea, or from the win- 
 dow creeping down and out when all was silent in the 
 house. And in the morning they would find her gone,
 
 154 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 the bed unslept in and no letter left to say what she 
 had done. 
 
 Presently presently, she would get up and go. 
 
 But Fate was against her even then. For sleep fell 
 upon her as she waited for the hushed silence of a sleep- 
 ing house. She awoke to find the morning far ad- 
 vanced, somebody knocking at her door and the journey 
 to town with Miss Jacob quite unavoidable. 
 
 But all the way up her brain worked hard, twisting 
 and turning every thought of escape possible, until the 
 express steamed finally into its goal. 
 
 They had hardly spoken throughout the journey. 
 Miss Jacob had a headache and looked ill. The shock 
 of her brother's anger, and discovery, had indeed upset 
 her and although he had not blamed her, after the first 
 moment of their meeting, she reproached herself deeply 
 for what had occurred. She felt sorry for Zoe, judg- 
 ing by the look in her eyes, the expression of her face, 
 but the girl's sullenness evidently put her off. Besides, 
 although she thought her brother had been unduly 
 severe, she did not believe Zoe as ignorant of the mean- 
 ing of her words and deeds as she felt quite sure their 
 Rachel was. Therefore she approved of the dismissal 
 before any further contamination could take place, and 
 felt that the responsibility of Zoe was more than she 
 could undertake, and that she would only breathe 
 freely again when she had seen her in charge of the 
 guard enrobe for Dunsworth. So much she conveyed 
 in the little she said, and it is possible she thought that 
 if Zoe resumed her bad ways it would no longer be their 
 concern. 
 
 They should have reached Charing Cross in time to 
 catch the Dunsworth train a few minutes later, but, 
 owing to' some delay in getting Zoe's luggage, they 
 missed it and found the next was not due for nearly an 
 hour.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 155 
 
 "Well have some refreshment and go to the waiting- 
 room," said Miss Jacob, after sending a wire to Mrs. 
 Dereham explaining what had happened. 
 
 "Why need you wait at all?" asked Zoe, with a 
 glimmer of hope that she might be left alone. "If I'm 
 not to be trusted to get into the train, I can't be to 
 travel by it." 
 
 "I have promised my brother that I would see you 
 off and I am not in the habit of breaking my word," 
 retorted Miss Jacob as she led the way into the refresh- 
 ment room and ordered two cups of coffee. 
 
 "But I'm not going home all the same," mused Zoe, 
 glancing around and wondering if she dared make a 
 dash for liberty. The odds were, she decided, too much 
 against her and there would be a bother about her lug- 
 gage; she must keep that with her wherever she went. 
 Well, she would escape somehow, sooner or later, mean- 
 while she must throw as much dust as possible in Aunt 
 Lena's eyes and trust to luck. 
 
 So she listened quietly to a little lecture on duty 
 which reminded her of Madame Delorme and all the 
 disagreeable people she had known; and wondered if 
 Rachel would get the same sort of thing from her father 
 as they went their way to Eastbourne where Miss Jacob 
 was to join them. So much she had managed to get out 
 of the little woman during the journey, for she had not 
 seen Rachel that morning and only Mr. 'Jacob for a few 
 minutes before she left. 
 
 He had given her an envelope containing a cheque 
 for fifty pounds, and her mind had been so full of de- 
 light at having such a huge sum of her own, that she 
 had barely heeded his solemn warning words. It was a 
 fortune! It would keep her for quite a long time, 
 whether Mr. Raynor helped her or not. And it made 
 her independent of her mother! 
 
 She kept on telling herself these things long after
 
 156 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 they had settled down in the ladies' room. Telling her- 
 self that even if she went all the way to Dunsworth she 
 could come straight back and go to the rooms in Beau- 
 mont street, Bert Lindon had told her about. 
 
 But, to avoid a scene with her mother, it would be 
 better to turn back at one of the stations along the line 
 and me,et her only when she could say: "See, I am 
 paying my way here and need never cost you a farth- 
 ing." No poor mother would be so foolish as to dash 
 the cup from her child's lips then! 
 
 Yes she would jump out at the first station and 
 evade the guard or hoax him. And back to London it 
 would be Miss Jacob, for all your talk of duty to an 
 unjust brother or a naughty erring girl ! 
 
 The room was close and full. Women came and 
 went. She caught a tantalizing glimpse of a busy plat- 
 form each time the door swung round. She was tired 
 of sitting and longed for air. Surely Miss Jacob would 
 not mind if she stood near the door. 
 
 She turned to ask her. And her heart seemed to 
 bound into her mouth at what she saw. Miss Jacob was 
 fast asleep! 
 
 Here was the chance she had been longing for her 
 chance of escape. 
 
 No one noticed her as she crept through the swinging 
 door and darted towards a porter, exclaiming, as she 
 held out a cloak room ticket : 
 
 "Please get me this trunk at once I'm in a hurry." 
 
 "Yes, Miss, what train?" 
 
 "None. I want a taxi." 
 
 "You get one outside, and I'll bring this along." 
 
 She watched him anxiously as he hurried off. Sup- 
 posing Miss Jacob waylaid him! Supposing 
 
 But she was going to suppose nothing. Miss Jacob 
 was still asleep. She would only wake up when it did 
 not matter at all. She was asleep.
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 157 
 
 But no! There she was, running to and fro, with a 
 bewildered look upon her face! She must have heen 
 pretending to sleep she must Heavens! She was 
 coming no, she had turned again, without seeing the 
 porter who was bringing the trunk as fast as he could 
 run. 
 
 With a little prayer for help Zoe darted through 
 to the front of the station like a mouse into its hole. 
 But at the same moment Miss Jacob had turned, seen 
 her, and darted after like a cat intent on prey. 
 
 "Stop porter! Stop, driver! This young lady is 
 with me!" she cried, as she emerged just in time to see 
 Zoe's box hoisted on to the taxi and Zoe about to get in. 
 
 Zoe, determined to stake her all, glanced from one 
 man to the other appealingly. 
 
 "It isn't true," she said, "I have nothing to do with 
 her. She wants me to go where I don't want to. She's 
 nothing to me nothing." She paused, overcome as 
 the porter pushed Miss Jacob back and looked ambigu- 
 ously at the driver, who grinned from ear to ear. 
 
 "Zoe, you wicked girl " began Miss Jacob, strug- 
 gling to get at her but unable to move the porter's 
 brawny arm as he held it out to bar the way, whilst 
 Zoe jumped quickly in. 
 
 "All right, M'm," he soothed, "don't you worry. 
 The young lady's all right which is more than you'll 
 be when the sergeant comes along." 
 
 He beckoned a burly policeman as he spoke, nodded 
 to the driver, closed the cab door, smiling in upon Zoe 
 as she dropped her tip into his hand, and turned again 
 to Miss Jacob who was gesticulating angrily. 
 
 And that was the last Zoe ever saw of her, though she 
 often longed to know what had really happened and 
 was puzzled for many a day as to the facility with 
 which she had got off. Some porters, she felt sure, 
 would have given her up at once some drivers would
 
 158 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 have refused to take her. She could only believe that 
 these kind of men had been more sorry for beauty in 
 distress than for its bugbear in pursuit. Anyhow she 
 was safe now in Beaumont Street and the new life it 
 spelled, no longer in the dim future. 
 
 Having got over her fear of pursuit, by the time she 
 reached the post office, in Regent street, she stopped the 
 cab and went in. 
 
 " Quite safe not coming will write " were the 
 words of the telegram she sent to her mother, and then, 
 seized with a sudden impulse she sent another to the 
 Jacob house in Kensington where Miss Jacob was going 
 for the night. 
 
 "Sorry had to do it won't go home safe " 
 And so ended the episode, with the feeling that if she 
 had given a lot of trouble she had certainly made 
 amends. 
 
 A tall man was standing with his back to her, as she 
 handed the forms across the counter. But there was 
 a look of familiarity about him which roused her curi- 
 osity and made her delay her going, by asking for 
 stamps. 
 
 "Is it is it not?" she was asking herself as she 
 dropped the change into her purse, keeping her eyes on 
 the well poised head with its crisp fair hair "It 
 is!" 
 
 Yes it was Roy Keith, at last! As he turned and 
 regarded her, recognition jumped to his blue eyes and 
 he exclaimed: 
 
 "Little Zoe!" 
 
 "Mr. Keith!" 
 
 "Fancy you remembering me, like that!" he mur- 
 mured, his voice a caress, as he held her hand. 
 
 1 ' And you ! ' ' she laughed, ' ' remembering me ! " 
 
 "There's nothing wonderful in that," he retorted 
 quickly, pushing the envelope he had been stamping
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 159 
 
 under the grille and nodding to the clerk, "I should 
 have known you anywhere." 
 
 "And I, you," faltered Zoe, her cheeks red, as they 
 passed out into the street together. "Such heaps of 
 things have happened since we met, and " 
 
 "You went back and faced the music I remember." 
 
 "Yes but I was expelled all the same." 
 
 "Poor little girl!" 
 
 "Oh, I didn't mind that, here's my taxi." 
 
 "Are you going away?" he asked. 
 
 "No. I've just come to London to stay! I'm go- 
 ing to rooms in Beaumont Street." 
 
 "Good. I'm going that way too, wherever it is. 
 Can you give me a lift and tell me all about yourself?" 
 
 Her eyes sparkled as he opened the door. She saw 
 the driver look round inquiringly. Of course he be- 
 lieved he now knew why she had run away by herself, 
 why she had made him stop here. Perhaps he would 
 see the porter and tell him that they had both a hand 
 in a romance that the gentleman she went to meet was 
 very smart a lover worthy of the name, of any woman 
 in the land! 
 
 "I was just wishing I could see somebody I knew," 
 she said as she settled into her corner, "London's a 
 dreadful place for making one feel lonely and insig- 
 nificant. But do tell me about Mr. Hales. I often 
 wonder if I did the best thing in obeying him." 
 
 "Oh, I'm sure you did! Old Hales is always right. 
 He's a jolly good sort, if a bit too saintly for a sinner 
 like myself. He takes life too seriously, poor chap, and 
 is slumming now with some mistaken notion of helping 
 those who will not help themselves, except to other 
 people's belongings." 
 
 But Zoe was not listening, although her eyes were 
 on his face. For she was telling herself that the 
 Prince had come at last!
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 
 
 ZOB did not tell the whole truth to Roy Keith; she 
 was too afraid he might advise her to go home. 
 Moreover she was too excited to talk coherently, too 
 eager for what was before to dilate on what was behind. 
 Sufficient that she had left one post that morning to 
 take another, and that she was going to rooms she had 
 heard of. The post? Well, she was really going on 
 the stage. She had one or two friends there and they 
 could help. And she was going to have dancing lessons 
 with the great Leonora. She charged a lot but there 
 would be no trouble about that. 
 
 He listened with interest, asked few questions, sug- 
 gested that the life had its drawbacks and wondered 
 why her people let her take it up. Well, why not? 
 She had to live and she had tried teaching, which at one 
 time was the only thing a lady could do and she hated 
 it and everything connected with it. Didn't he know 
 any nice actresses then? 
 
 Of course, only he wouldn't like his sister to be one. 
 And she was older, and less pretty, and quite able to 
 take care of herself anywhere. And so, he was sorry, 
 that was all, and as she was such a baby he might as well 
 go as far as Beaumont Street, in case they could not 
 take her in and she had to go elsewhere. Wasn't she a 
 baby? Well, no she was a dear sweet little girl and 
 he loved to be with her. 
 
 So he waited in the taxi whilst she went in and inter- 
 viewed a tall fair woman, whose trim appearance im- 
 pressed her favorably as she stated what she wanted. 
 
 From the sitting-room window she could see into the 
 
 160
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 161 
 
 cab, and her heart thrilled with delight as she caught 
 a glimpse of Roy's smiling face. 
 
 "Do you want the rooms for yourself, only?" asked 
 the woman, following the direction of her glance with a 
 shrewd look in her eyes. 
 
 "Of course," said Zoe, looking surprised. 
 
 "You must forgive my asking, but I saw the gentle- 
 man in the cab and thought he might be coming with 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, dear no! Of course he isn't!" 
 
 "I don't see any of course about it. Leastways if 
 he's your husband." 
 
 "But he isn't!" laughed Zoe, blushing hotly. "He's 
 only a a very old friend." 
 
 "Yes," nodded the woman, with a nasty smile, 
 "they're all that, I know!" 
 
 "I don't know what you mean!" exclaimed the girl, 
 her face full of astonishment, her anger rising. "At 
 any rate it doesn't matter to you if I pay your rent 
 and" 
 
 "Oh, yes, it does. This house is a respectable 
 one!" 
 
 Zoe stared. Although she could not understand 
 what the creature meant, she could not mistake the in- 
 solence of face and tone, and a wave of fury swept 
 over her as she turned into the hall, exclaiming in- 
 dignantly : 
 
 "You are a very rude woman. And I wouldn't 
 dream of coming here, although I might have done so 
 if you had kept a civil tongue in your head. Good 
 morning. ' ' 
 
 She pulled the door open and made for the taxi, say- 
 ing, as Keith stepped out : 
 
 "It's no good. The woman's horrid, and the rooms 
 are beastly." 
 
 "Jump in then, and I'll take you to some I know.
 
 162 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 And then we'll lunch together. Oh, never mind my ap- 
 pointment it can wait. Go to 110 Berners Street, 
 driver. And now isn't it a good thing I waited?" he 
 added as he sat down, and the cab turned smartly 
 round. 
 
 "Indeed it is!" said Zoe, still ruffled. "For one 
 thing, if you hadn't been with me the woman might 
 not have shown herself in her true colors, and I should 
 have taken her rooms to regret it ever after." 
 
 "What did she say?" 
 
 "It wasn't so much what she said, as her nasty looks. 
 But I'm glad I found her out at once " 
 
 "What did she say, little Zoe?" 
 
 "Oh, she had the cheek to ask who you were, just 
 because she saw you there. And when I said it didn't 
 matter to her she said her house was respectable, as 
 though that had anything to do with it " 
 
 "What a meddlesome old cat!" exclaimed Keith, 
 looking so earnestly into her face that she felt her 
 color rise. "And such a thing to say!" 
 
 "Yes wasn't it!" 
 
 "Never mind. You won't find Biddy Toogood like 
 that! She's a dear old soul, and the last to throw 
 suspicion on my respectability." 
 
 "Oh, but she couldn't have meant that!" she said, 
 with a look of such concern that he burst out laughing 
 and exclaimed: 
 
 "Are you quite sure of that?" 
 
 "Of course! She's one of those proper people who 
 hate men, and was shocked at my being with one I'm 
 sure." 
 
 "Even with me, little Zoe?" 
 
 "Yes. Even with you. She was, you see. I knew 
 that was what she really meant because I'm used to 
 people with such ideas. Even if there were any wrong 
 in it they make you want to do wrong rather than grow
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 163 
 
 like them. It wasn't you she was hitting at, it was 
 me." 
 
 "Anyhow, I'm very grateful to her because she has 
 given me the chance of helping you and shown me also 
 what a real baby you really are!" 
 
 "I don't see how you can say that?" pouted Zoe. 
 "I do, though. Now look here, after we have inter- 
 viewed Biddy Toogood she's an old friend of mine is 
 Biddy and left your luggage in her care, we'll go out 
 to lunch, and then " 
 "Then I must look up Mr. Raynor " 
 "Who's he?" 
 
 "He's one of the friends who are going to help me 
 with the stage." 
 
 "Oh and then what are you going to do?" 
 "I shall see Leonora and arrange about my lessons." 
 "Good. And then what is little Zoe going to do?" 
 "Work and go to agents and practice singing 
 and oh, I shall have plenty to do, Mr. Keith. You 
 have to work hard on the stage." 
 "You'll let me call round to see you sometimes?" 
 "If you want to." 
 
 "And fetch you from the theater at night?" 
 "If you don't mind waiting at the stage door. I 
 don't think they'd let you in really at least not " 
 "I've heard they're just as particular as the lady in 
 Beaumont Street," he smiled. "But I don't mind 
 waiting on the curb if you don't keep me too long. 
 Some other pretty actress might run off with me then, 
 and where would you be?" 
 "I could manage quite well, thank you." 
 "You wouldn't mind being left alone?" 
 "I would rather, if you did that sort of thing!" she 
 retorted quickly, her eyes flashing. But in her heart 
 stirred the thought that she would never forgive the 
 girl who took him from her. Never! If Rachel came
 
 164 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 along and cast her languishing eyes on him df the 
 mere thought of it was horrible and she turned her head 
 away, lest he should read it in her face. 
 
 A month later she sat in her room, in the house at 
 Berners Street, writing a letter to her mother. 
 
 The room had fewer of the faults in taste and furni- 
 ture than most rooms of its type and the quality, rare 
 in all, of scrupulous cleanliness. It opened into a small 
 bedroom hung with the old chintz curtains the dress- 
 ing table stiff with a glazed pink petticoat veiled in 
 pin muslin which Mrs. Toogood had brought from her 
 country home. 
 
 Now and then Zoe raised her head to sniff at the 
 flowers Keith had sent, and smile at his photograph 
 which she had propped up in front of her. Through 
 the window came the voices of the people passing along 
 the street, the rumble of a van, the hoot or purr of a 
 motor, and the sharp tang of the March wind. 
 
 She wrote quickly, a little frown puckering her brow : 
 
 "I am so sorry you are not well enough to come to 
 London. But please don't ask me to come to Duns- 
 worth. "When I came the other day I met all those 
 horrid Broome-Taylors with their dreadful teeth, on my 
 way to the station. And on the platform I ran into Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wood. I 'm sure he meant to preach to me but 
 she was afraid of my coming near her the old fruinp. 
 And I used to admire them both! Besides, I'm going 
 to be busy at last. To-morrow I see Mr. Deller the 
 great musical comedy man who owns most of the best 
 theaters. Leonora says he's sure to engage me. So 
 there's a chance! Much more than I could ever get if 
 I had kept to governessing or going about with a fast 
 little Jewess like Rachel. I'm so glad you didn't be- 
 lieve their story and stuck up for me. I learnt heaps 
 of dreadful things from her. And it's sweet of you to
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 165 
 
 give in about the stage. I know you don't really like 
 the idea but I'm sure you'll be glad enough some day. 
 When I'm earning pounds a week you must give up 
 that nasty teaching and come and live with me. And 
 I'll give you all the things you have done without for 
 years, and we'll always be jolly. For your Zoe does 
 love you in spite of what you say, but even for you she 
 can't give up what she knows is her true vocation. 
 
 "And some day who knows what will happen! Other 
 girls have had luck all round, why shouldn 't I ? " 
 
 She paused as she wrote that and smiled again at 
 Keith's photograph. What a dear he was! 
 
 If she did not mention him it was merely because she 
 did not want to upset her mother, and make her think 
 she was the flirt those horrid Jacobs made out. 
 
 But some day what a surprise for the shabby little 
 lady at Dunsworth! And what a surprise for Duns- 
 worth itself when it heard of her engagement to Roy 
 Keith, whose family was better than any of theirs and 
 who was heir to his uncle Sir Jasper Keith. Wouldn't 
 they toady then? And wouldn't it be great to spurn 
 and ignore them? 
 
 All the same the month had held disillusion in more 
 ways than one. Although Leonora had taken her as a 
 pupil charging a guinea each lesson instead of two, 
 because she was a friend of Mr. Raynor's she did not 
 enthuse about her. In fact she found herself totally 
 eclipsed by three other girls whose limbs were like india- 
 rubber, and whose toetips were so hardened that the 
 agony she suffered with hers was but a long-forgotten 
 nightmare to them. Moreover her back ached con- 
 stantly and the steps, and gestures, she had been so 
 proud of drew nothing but reproof. 
 
 Thus she learnt the hard lesson of her insignificance 
 and mediocrity, and came to see that she was not won- 
 derful in any way, nor ever likely to become so. But
 
 166 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 she was too obstinate to acknowledge that openly, and 
 argued that, if so many succeeded who were barely 
 mediocre, there was no need for discouragement. 
 Rachel had said that a girl could make any man she 
 fancied fall in love with her well then, surely that 
 belief was applicable in another sense a girl could 
 make herself as great as she wished to be. She meant 
 to at all events. It was not always talent that came 
 to the front. 
 
 So she took Raynor's cards to various managers and 
 visited the agencies, merely to discover that although 
 influence can do a great deal it cannot do as much as 
 she thought it would. 
 
 The theatrical manager of repute is above all a good 
 business man and sentiment has no place in business. 
 He is also a connoisseur of women as astute in spot- 
 ting their good points, the capacity for success and 
 popularity, as he is sharp in detecting their slightest 
 flaw or weakness. Zoe was prettier than most girls but 
 that was not sufficient for him. And the theatrical 
 agent being just as knowing, she was put off with the 
 promise of work next time. 
 
 For Raynor had been careful where he sent her, so 
 that she met with none of the vulgar familiarity, the 
 veiled suggestions and insulting looks one reads about 
 in most stories of this kind. She had nothing to com- 
 plain of, though many girls could perhaps tell a differ- 
 ent tale others too might resent the bald glance with 
 which she was summed up, the free and almost paternal 
 mode of address. Though it is true that such things 
 exist, it is also true that all the world over evil is ex- 
 ploited and exaggerated, looked for and drawn out, 
 whilst what little good there may be is passed unnoticed 
 and unrecognized like many a hero in the battle of 
 life. 
 
 And just as Zoe was guided by one who knew all the
 
 167 
 
 murkiness of the stream, she wished to follow, merely 
 believing its waters sweet and clean, so in the street she 
 was protected from the men who sought to follow her 
 not by her wish to elude them, with their unwelcome ad- 
 miration rather by her love for Keith. 
 
 For the moment he dominated her so completely that 
 she was with him like clay in the hands of the potter, 
 and the impression he made lasted long after he had left 
 her. But he never spoke of love seized her in his 
 arms as Buckell had done attempted to kiss her. And 
 she burned ardently for him to do all that and could 
 not understand that he was seemingly indifferent to all 
 her blandishments because he told himself that she was 
 a lonely little girl who trusted him, and that he would 
 be a swine if he ever forgot it. 
 
 But is was clear that she had attracted him; that he 
 realized how easily she could attract others, and re- 
 sented it; that he never ceased to wonder how her 
 mother could consent to leave her in such an entour- 
 age as that of the theatrical world. He thought it an 
 outrage to dump such a baby down in that milieu he 
 told her teasingly, though his eyes seemed to ask if she 
 was such a baby after all, if her childish ignorance was 
 genuine ? 
 
 And as he got to know her better his manner seemed 
 to change. He evinced a tolerance, such as a child used 
 to expensive toys, might show for one of inferior make 
 when he had penetrated its showy exterior. 
 
 She saw him every day and counted the minutes to 
 his coming. She never saw him go without a feeling 
 of desolation and the fear that he might never come 
 again. She loved his presents which were many of 
 flowers, chocolates and other trifles. She told him all 
 her little troubles with Leonora, who had scolded her 
 about her dancing, and the stupid short-sighted people 
 who would not engage her. For his sake she tried
 
 168 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 harder than she had ever tried, to be good. She was 
 filled with a sense of her unworthiness, a belief in his 
 saintliness for all his deprecation of himself. Whether 
 she was capable of a lasting love or not, she loved him 
 now with every fiber of her being, and the uncertainty 
 regarding his feelings was almost more than she could 
 bear. 
 
 She slept badly in consequence and was irritable and 
 moody. But he put that down to her vain search for 
 work and, as she reflected hysterically, offered her a 
 stone instead of bread dissipation instead of love! 
 
 But she was also beginning to grow anxious about her 
 unemployment. For in spite of her seeming wealth at 
 the start she had practically nothing left, and ended 
 up her letter by asking for some money. 
 
 For she had spent hers recklessly at first. A few hats, 
 one or two gowns, an elaborate evening cloak, silk stock- 
 ings and smart shoes, not to mention flimsy underwear, 
 had run away with far more than she imagined when 
 choosing the things at the counter in the showroom. 
 Then she realized only that she wanted the article in 
 question and another and yet another. Many women 
 might lose their heads in like manner, if let loose in 
 such a place of plenty as a first class draper's shop, 
 only to recover their senses when the purchase was 
 made and irrevocable. And Zoe was naturally extrava- 
 gant moreover she had no sense of the value of money, 
 nor could she do mental sums so that the ten pounds she 
 had set out to spend on the "absolutely neceessary" 
 clothing for her new vocation, had beeen spent more 
 than twice over before she realized that five had gone. 
 
 Out of the money left there were Leonora's lessons, 
 her rooms, her keep and various odds and ends. She 
 had asked her mother for money the third week, and it 
 had been sent without one word of reproof or warning, 
 though she silenced any misgiving she felt by telling
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 169 
 
 herself that her mother had not had to keep her for 
 some time so had no right to grumble at having to do 
 so now. Yet when she went to see her, her heart failed 
 her somewhat as she set eyes on the thin white face and 
 emaciated form. And she could not quite believe that 
 influenza was the cause of such a change, though the 
 most assiduous questioning, as to pupils and lessons, 
 elicited nothing else. She felt quite miserable about it 
 for a day or two, and it was quite as much because of 
 her reluctance to see her again as because of her hatred 
 of the people she used to know, that she did not want to 
 go again. 
 
 And as she ran down to post her letter she met Mrs. 
 Toogood, a cheery old soul with the corkscrew curls one 
 so rarely sees and bright eyes like boot-buttons, bring- 
 ing a note up to her. 
 
 "Who brought it?" asked Zoe, tearing it open 
 wonderingly, for the writing was unknown. 
 
 "Just a messenger boy he's waiting for the an- 
 swer. ' ' 
 
 It was from an acquaintance of Raynor's a Mrs. 
 Desborough. She was getting up a concert at a ladies' 
 club recently started in Mayfair. Would Miss Dere- 
 ham be so kind as to help them by doing a dance or 
 two and singing Madame Dardino's songs? Mr. Ray- 
 nor said she was a very good substitute and Madame 
 Dardino's fees were too prohibitive for a poor little 
 fledgling club like theirs. Still, there would be a 
 guinea for Miss Dereham and the concert began at nine 
 o'clock that night. 
 
 "Yes yes yes " she cried, "tell the boy the an- 
 swer is 'yes with pleasure!' " 
 
 "You'd better write it, Miss. Boys are apt to 
 muddle things." 
 
 "Oh, must I well, perhaps so. It's my first engage- 
 ment, Mrs. Biddy. And it may lead to hundreds for
 
 170 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 it's at a club where one meets crowds of influential 
 people who give parties of their own. And I 'm to have 
 a guinea isn't it jolly?" 
 
 "I'm sure I'm very glad, Miss. It's time you made 
 a start, and I hope you keep it up and not turn back: 
 My, won't Mister Roy be glad to see you look so 
 pleased." 
 
 Zoe looked thoughtful. Roy had promised to dine 
 with her and take her to a theater that night. He had 
 the tickets. But of course duty before pleasure that 
 was one of the penalties of poverty. And in a way 
 there would be pleasure in this she longed to know 
 what these club ladies would say about her, how they 
 would look when they saw her dance. Leonora might 
 not think much of her but Raynor evidently did! 
 And perhaps Roy would come and fetch her, come and 
 see her too. Ah! If he saw her then would he be so 
 cold afterwards? 
 
 She scrawled a hasty reply and gave the boy a six- 
 pence on the strength of the guinea she was to receive. 
 Further, she ordered a taxi and went off in high spirits 
 when the time came, in spite of Roy's refusal to go 
 into the club as an uninvited guest.. 
 
 "But you wouldn't!" she had exclaimed. "You'd 
 go with me as as my chaperon." 
 
 "Rubbish it would be the worst thing possible for 
 you." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because pretty young girls don't go about like that 
 unless the man is a relative, or " 
 
 "Yes?" queried Zoe sweetly, her eyes full of ex- 
 pectancy. 
 
 "Oh damn. Can't you understand, Zoe? You 
 know I'm right. That it isn't done!" 
 
 "Of course you're right," she faltered, her heart 
 sinking as she told herself, that he couldn't love her
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 171 
 
 really or he would not have missed such a chance of 
 telling her so. 
 
 "Don't say it like that, little Zoe, it makes me feel 
 a brute for refusing. But even if I could it wouldn't 
 be wise. Some one I know might be there and and " 
 
 "You're ashamed of being seen with me?" 
 
 "Don't be a goosey. I merely don't want a lot of 
 silly twaddle my uncle is very pig-headed about some 
 things, and one is my being seen with pretty girls. 
 He's got some one up his sleeve for me. A bloated 
 grocer's daughter, fat and thirty I hear and although 
 I don't mean to have anything to do with the lady 
 there's no reason why I should upset my own apple- 
 cart." 
 
 "Must you marry her?" 
 
 "No, silly of course not. I'm going to marry a 
 pretty dainty little girl Some day, but " 
 
 Zoe's heart beat loud, the color rushed to her face 
 She felt sure she knew whom he meant that he merely 
 held his tongue because of the strict uncle and, per- 
 haps, her youth. Although longing for him to say 
 more she, in the contrary way of women, exclaimed 
 hurriedly : 
 
 "Oh but you won't see me dance! And I so 
 wanted you to." 
 
 "Why not? I'm done out of your company at 
 the theater so I'm going to insist on some compensa- 
 tion. You shall dance to me here, Zoe before you 
 go. So hurry up old Biddy with the dinner and put 
 on your finery." 
 
 And so she had danced for him putting her best 
 into the song, her every effort into the dance and 
 as she flung aside her cloak and relaxed her lissome 
 graceful figure in the tights she had rushed out to 
 buy before he came she sprang towards him, her 
 hands outstretched, her face aglow.
 
 172 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Bravo!" he cried, catching her to him and cover- 
 ing her face with passionate kisses. 
 
 "At last!" sang her heart as she clung to him, 
 thrilling with delight. 
 
 But he put her from him as suddenly as he had 
 seized her, his face red with anger against himself. 
 
 "Forgive me " he murmured. "I lost my head. 
 You are such a witch such a fascinating little devil!" 
 
 She laughed more to cover her annoyance than 
 anything else. 
 
 "After all what is there in a kiss?" she stam- 
 mered. 
 
 "Is that what you feel about it?" 
 
 "Oh, no," she saw he expected her to feel some- 
 thing she hardly knew what though in her heart she 
 felt that she would do all she could to make him kiss 
 her again. "Of course you oughtn't to do that kind 
 of thing, but " she looked invitingly at him from un- 
 der her long lashes. 
 
 "You forgive me you mean?" he asked, drawing 
 back and frowning a little. 
 
 "Yes, I forgive you." 
 
 "That's right Here, put on your cloak, or you 
 may catch cold. And must you really dance in those 
 things?" 
 
 "Of course. I'm copying Madame Dardino. Is 
 there anything wrong with them?" 
 
 "Nothing wrong, but " the words died in his throat 
 as he flung out of the room. 
 
 She clasped her hands gleefully Didn't this mean 
 that he loved her? That she really was the little girl 
 he wished to marry? 
 
 And although he did not return that is why she 
 went off willingly enough without him her heart 
 singing a paean of delight. Why also she looked more 
 beautiful, more fascinating than ever that night. Not
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 173 
 
 a few of her audience were spellbound. But whilst 
 she drank in their admiration greedily and laid her- 
 self out to rouse it afresh, her mind was full of the 
 one man she loved and whom she longed passionately 
 to see again..
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 
 
 ZOE slept well that night and woke full of high 
 sprits and physical well-being. Her debut at the 
 Club had been most successful although she had not 
 found the inflential audience she expected nor received 
 the promised guinea. 
 
 She sang snatches of her songs as she dressed, smiled 
 approvingly at her reflection in the mirror and won- 
 dered when Keith would call and whether he would 
 kiss her then. 
 
 The memory of his kisses haunted her she felt them 
 still on her face, her eyes, her lips. She was the hap- 
 piest girl in the world and longed to proclaim her joy 
 to all around. For although she recalled his frown, 
 his hurried departure, his muttered, broken sentences, 
 she felt sure he loved her that his strange behavior 
 was a sure sign of that. 
 
 So she set off gayly for her interview with Deller at 
 the Glorious Theater, discovering beauties she had 
 never suspected in the streets, in the hurried work-a- 
 day crowd, in the noise and bustle of the town. She 
 enjoyed the antics of the crisp wind as it whipped up 
 the color of the faces it met, frolicked with a school- 
 boy's cap and played hide-and-seek with every petti- 
 coat. 
 
 For she was in love, and everything seemed right. 
 And her luck had turned. With last night's engage- 
 ment had come the promise of success. Leonora 
 might call her mediocre, or just above the average, but 
 the world would be kinder than she wasn't it kind now? 
 
 174
 
 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 175 
 
 Even the wait in the tiny anteroom did not distress 
 her as it might have done yesterday. Deller was a 
 busy man and could not be expected to keep appoint- 
 ments to the minute. Nor was she the only one kept 
 waiting. Here was Gracie Long, one of Leonora's best 
 pupils a girl with toes as hard as horn and limbs like 
 indiarubber. 
 
 She was conscious of a little pang of annoyance 
 when she saw her there a faint fear lest she should 
 be ousted by her. But that soon passed off, chased by 
 the buoyant hope within her and the knowledge that 
 if Gracie was a splendid dancer she had neither voice, 
 nor manner, nor much in the way of looks. 
 
 She was a tall slip of a girl, with a boyish, graceful 
 figure, slim hands and perfect feet. But she looked 
 very common decked out in flashy finery, her tow- 
 colored hair well over her long pointed face, her bold 
 eyes bright with belladonna and blackened lashes, rouge 
 and powder thick upon her cheeks, carmine upon her 
 lips. 
 
 No recalling her dainty appearance, in trim tailor 
 suit and simple little hat Zoe no longer feared her. So 
 she smiled pleasantly at Gracie and listened to her 
 chatter, making mental notes of the girl's shrewd say- 
 ings, of the agents she mentioned, whose names Ray- 
 nor must have overlooked. 
 
 "You try Reuben Moses if Deller don't engage you," 
 said Gracie good-naturedly. "He wants girls for a 
 company he's sending to Berlin. Nellie Dent you 
 know her is going, and so shall I if I don't get this." 
 
 Zoe hesitated. Deller would engage her! She felt 
 it in her bones, in the clear air, the glad day. But she 
 could uot say so to this girl whose vulgarity could not 
 appeal to a man who was certainly an artist in his own 
 line. For she had not yet discovered that art and
 
 176 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 beauty can assume refinement without possessing it, and 
 that a certain type of vulgarity allied to talent carries 
 the promise of success, and makes good for whoever ex- 
 ploits it. 
 
 Not many months later when Gracie Long was as 
 famous as Leonora the rise and fall of a star is sudden 
 in theater land Zoe realized that it was cheek, aplomb, 
 daredevilry, and mere insolence of manner, which had 
 won the day for Gracie and darkened it for her. 
 
 Yet she glanced at the girl compassionately now, as 
 she came from Deller 's room with a boisterous laugh. 
 For she guessed that such gayety was put on to hide her 
 disappointment. 
 
 "It's your turn, now," said Gracie, "I'll wait here. 
 Ta-ta, and good luck." 
 
 Zoe went with conflicting thoughts. It would be 
 better if Gracie did not wait. She would hate to hurt 
 her feelings when she came back triumphant, presently. 
 
 She found Mr. Deller standing with his back to a 
 roaring fire a dapper little man with a humorous face 
 and keen eyes which ran her over appraisingly to come 
 back to hers with approval in their depths. Used as 
 she now was to being regarded as a prize animal in the 
 market place, there was something in the manner of 
 this man which made her more conscious of it than ever. 
 And her voice trembled indignantly as she answered 
 the abrupt questions flung at her like crumbs to a bird, 
 without waiting for her to finish one reply. 
 
 His mind must have been made up from the first. 
 For although the young man, who had shown her in, had 
 sat down at the piano, Deller did not attempt to put 
 her through her traces. He shook his head, and spoke 
 kindly. He was sorry he could not engage her, but he 
 wanted more experience his vacancies were all filled 
 up. But there would be one or two in a few weeks- 
 she could apply again the salary would begin at
 
 THE LUBE OP THE FLAME 177 
 
 thirty shillings a week. Yes in about five weeks she 
 could call. Good day. 
 
 She found herself back in the ante-room breathless 
 with surprise and disappointment. She had felt sure 
 he would engage her! The whole day had been full of 
 hope and gladness. 
 
 Alas! Just as we all can remember such a day in 
 our lives like an oasis in a desert of monotony so we 
 can remember that often towards its close the bright 
 sky is covered with clouds, lightning flashes, thunder 
 roars; or a steady downpour of persistent rain, more 
 depressing because seemingly eternal, quenches the fire 
 of hope we had lit so joyfully. 
 
 Nevertheless she blinked away the tears and smiled at 
 Gracie. 
 
 "I haven't got it," she murmured. 
 
 "Oh, I'm sorry, reelly!" cried the girl, "But never 
 mind, there's more fish in the sea when all's said and 
 done. Or, p'raps I ought to say more seas for us to 
 disport ourselves in!" 
 
 "I can't understand it," said Zoe, "He's a great 
 friend of the gentleman who sent me at least I un- 
 derstood he was " 
 
 "Well, he's done something by seeing you, hasn't he? 
 Sometimes he won't do that when he's full up. That 
 means you stand a chance for later on " 
 
 "Yes. But what's the good of that?" retorted Zoe 
 bitterly, as they went along the dreary passages, "It's 
 now I want it now " 
 
 She was conscious of Gracie 's quick puzzled look 
 which seemed to ask why she wanted work so badly, 
 when she was anything but down at heel. That was 
 Gracie 's idea of poverty and want since appearance 
 did not matter so much in the world from which she 
 sprung. She had no idea of the scores of well-clad, 
 well-groomed men and women, looking far above money.
 
 178 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 worries, to whom money was as rare a commodity as 
 manna straight from Heaven. 
 
 "I'm awfully sorry," she stammered, "I didn't think 
 you cared much if I had I might I really might 
 have asked Mr. Deller to give you a chance first I 
 know mine '11 come, and Jimmy Lord of the Gigantic is 
 pretty keen on me." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Zoe. 
 
 "Don't you know? Deller 's engaged me. But I 
 wouldn't have taken it from you if " 
 
 "Of course you wouldn't," retorted Zoe, wondering 
 what Deller had been thinking about "Nor indeed, 
 should I dream of taking it from you. It's very kind 
 of you to to say those things, but it's only fair you 
 should get it. You're older than I and a better dancer 
 and" 
 
 "As for that, I've danced from my cradle, so that's 
 nothing to crow about. And you're all right too, al- 
 though Leonora's down on you. I think it a shame 
 she is." 
 
 "You dance beautifully," said Zoe generously. If 
 I'd learnt from my cradle I should still be as far be- 
 hind as I am now. I'm glad Mr. Deller has engaged 
 you and if you'll give me Mr. Reuben Moses's address 
 I'll go to him" 
 
 "Don't you know him?" 
 
 "I've never heard of him," said Zoe, going on to 
 name those she had seen all high up in their calling 
 with nothing shady to their names. Gracie laughed. 
 
 "My! They're tip top," she said, "And look for 
 tip top workers. I wouldn't go to them, myself If 
 you really want to start you must be in with someone 
 else someone who doesn't mind if you're known or not 
 and then if you make a name those others '11 take you 
 up p'raps. Whoever sent you to them, has some game 
 on I'll be bound."
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 179 
 
 "How?" asked Zoe. 
 
 "He doesn't want you to get work if he's a man. 
 If it's a woman, she's jealous." 
 
 Zoe flushed. Why should not Raynor want her to 
 work? Could Dardino be directing him? 
 
 "I don't think that's at all likely," she retorted 
 stiffly. "The friend who sent me is a very nice man 
 who is most anxious to see me get on, and " 
 
 "They all say that!" sniffed Gracie. "That's a 
 blind what they hope is that you'll go on trying and 
 never getting, until at last you drop like a ripe plum 
 into their hands that's what they mean, these gentle- 
 men who send you to places where they only want 
 people with success behind them." 
 
 "Why should anyone do anything so absurd?" cried 
 Zoe. "If a man wants to marry a girl " 
 
 "Marry!" Who spoke of marrying?" laughed 
 Gracie, her eyes incredulous, "Come, you aren't as 
 simple as all that. You know quite well what I mean 
 I've seen you give the glad eye to some of the gentle- 
 men that come to watch us dance at Leonora's I saw 
 you when the Honorable Jack made a fuss of you." 
 
 "Surely a cat may look at a king and one can't 
 be rude to people just because they happen to be men," 
 retorted Zoe, puzzled at this sudden sign of prudery in 
 one she had considered anything but strait-laced. 
 
 ' ' I can 't bear people who pretend to be innocent, when 
 they're no better than they are," exclaimed Gracie. 
 
 Zoe walked on in silence along the dingy street. She 
 felt annoyed with Gracie, with Raynor, with all the 
 world. She wanted to ask what Gracie meant, but did 
 not like to expose an ignorance which seemed so con- 
 temptible. Already she had learnt many things she had 
 never dreamt of and which told to her badly had made 
 an impression far from good. But here was a mystery 
 she had not yet fathomed, and which she had heard
 
 180 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 hinted at with tears and laughter, several times of late. 
 And no one believed she did not know it. Every one 
 called her a baby and a green-horn, but no one told her 
 why. It had been the same at school where the girl 
 whose love letter had been found, was one of a clique 
 which seemed to have some secret understanding. She 
 had heard them whispering their confidences, their 
 faces full of secrecy and an unholy look which had 
 made her shrink from them. But to an outsider like 
 herself, no inkling ever came of what they discussed 
 with such evil glee only she caught the words, "he 
 him his " and concluded with disgust that all these 
 blushes and furtive whisperings were merely about the 
 spotty faced youth she loathed. 
 
 And at Leonora's she found the same kind of free- 
 masonry amongst various members of the class 
 chiefly the girls like Gracie. It had puzzled her for 
 a long time. 
 
 They had reached Leicester Square and stopped at a 
 crossing. An overdressed woman one of the outcast 
 sisterhood came towards them. Gracie tossed her head 
 and looked contemptuously into the pretty and some- 
 what unhappy little face, but Zoe's heart tightened as 
 she met the miserable, defiant eyes, which lingered al- 
 most enviously upon her. She felt the color rush to her 
 brow and an inexplicable pity well up in her. It was as 
 though the woman said: "I am in prison in prison 
 help me out!" 
 
 "P'raps you don't know what she is?" whispered 
 Gracie in her ear. 
 
 "She looks wretched in spite of all her finery," mur- 
 mured Zoe. 
 
 "It's her own fault the beast! I hate her, I hate 
 them all, but above all I hate them that drive them 
 to it." 
 
 "To what?" stammered Zoe, surprised at the girl's
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 181 
 
 astonishing anger and feeling she was on the brink of a 
 discovery. Gracie looked at her suspiciously: 
 
 "Come," she said, "You aren't as green as all that! 
 And if you are I wonder your mother lets you stay 
 here alone and " 
 
 "Nothing terrible has happened to her, why should 
 it to me?" retorted Zoe, unconsciously using the same 
 plea her mother had many a time. "Perhaps she 
 doesn't know the things you mean. And she warned 
 me against strangers." 
 
 "That's no good, if she didn't say why. That's 
 mothers all over. They're a poor lot, and the only ones 
 to blame if anything happens." 
 
 "My mother is anything but a poor lot!" choked Zoe, 
 as the loved face seemed to rise before her in protest, 
 "She's a saint, really!" 
 
 "A funny kind of saint I call her, if she shirks her 
 nasty business on to other people. I've known girls go 
 'on the streets' just because their mothers have been 
 too mysterious to " 
 
 "On the streets?" 
 
 ' ' Oh, my, Zoe, you make me tired ! Go home to your 
 Mammie do, you aren't fit to look after yourself " 
 
 "But" protested Zoe. 
 
 "Here's Reuben's Are you going in?" 
 
 "I may as well, muttered Zoe, resentfully, as she 
 looked up at the dingy plate which gave the information 
 that Reuben Moses, Dramatic and Theatrical Agent, 
 was within. 
 
 "Well then, I'll say good-by. I really don't know 
 whether I ought to let you go in," exclaimed Gracie 
 mockingly. "You're such an innocent baby and he's 
 hot stuff and I'm sure your Mammie will be shocked, 
 and' 
 
 "Oh, don't!" snapped Zoe, turning away indig- 
 nantly, and making for the narrow stairs, as Gracie 's
 
 182 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 laugh rang after her. She felt very angry with her, 
 first for rousing her curiosity and then not satisfying 
 it and then for disbelieving her as she so evidently did. 
 
 She knocked at the glass topped door on which, 
 painted in black lettering, ran the same legend as that 
 downstairs. 
 
 "Come in," called a man's voice. 
 
 She found herself in a dingy room with a frosted 
 window and walls covered with theatrical posters and 
 photographs. An open door facing her, led into an- 
 other room comfortably furnished its walls decorated 
 in like fashion, its windows heavily curtained. On its 
 threshold stood a young man with sleek black hair, a 
 huge nose and a leer on his swarthy face. 
 
 "Mr. Moses?" said Zoe, her heart sinking. 
 
 "No Miss. You're too late by ten minutes. Mr. 
 Moses will be back at three " 
 
 She hesitated, relieved that this somewhat forbidding 
 looking youth was not the man she sought. 
 
 "Have you an appointment?" he asked, coming for- 
 ward and jingling the coins in his trouser pockets. 
 
 "No. But I suppose you don't know if it's any 
 
 good my coming back? I want a post, as as dancer 
 
 __ 
 or 
 
 "I'm sure it is," he exclaimed, his bold eyes full of 
 admiration. "We have several vacancies for dancers 
 two troupes going abroad. One starts to-night." 
 
 He was edging nearer to her as he spoke, his eyes 
 still on her face, his leer deeper, cunning, insolent. 
 
 "Only of course there are lots after them. It's goad 
 pay you see, not to mention a sea voyage and a good 
 time over there. Ever been on the continent?" 
 
 "Yes " faltered Zoe, backing to the door she had 
 left open behind her. 
 
 "Won't you sit down and let me tell you all about 
 it? Mr. Moses is sending me over with them, and if
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 183 
 
 he engages you as he's sure to when he hears what I 
 have to say about it " 
 
 "I I don't think I want to go abroad," said Zoe, 
 her hand on the door-knob. 
 
 "Not if I promise to look after you? I know the 
 ropes, and can put you up to a trick or two." 
 
 "I prefer something here," replied Zoe, her heart 
 thumping noisily and a sense of relief springing up in 
 it as she caught sight of a woman's figure in the pas- 
 sage. "So I'll come back at three. Good morning." 
 
 She closed the door quietly in the man's astonished 
 face, and turned to the stairs. The woman standing 
 at the top of them was small and shabby with a pale 
 wan face and faded bl,ue eyes. 
 
 "Excuse me," she said in a low sweet voice, "But if 
 you'll take my advice you won't come back at three 
 no, not even if you're starving, which doesn't seem 
 likely judging by your appearance. I heard what you 
 said I couldn't help it, and perhaps it's just as well. 
 
 "Why?" asked Zoe, as they went down together. 
 
 "Because Mr. Moses isn't a good man that's why?" 
 
 "But what does that matter, if he gets me something 
 to do?" 
 
 "It'll matter more than you think. I know. I was 
 taken in like that once, and had no one to save me. 
 That's why I stopped to listen and wait for you If 
 you take any post he offers you'll wish yourself dead 
 before your 're much older. You didn't like that man 
 you saw, did you?" 
 
 "No he was horrid I was glad to see you " 
 
 "Moses is worse and once you get into his clutches 
 you're like a fly in a spider's web. If you walk into 
 his parlor to-day, you'll rue it there!" 
 
 "Why oh, why?" whispered Zoe, recalling the feel- 
 ing of nausea the youth had aroused in her. 
 
 "A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse," re-
 
 184 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 plied the woman. "I've a room above Moses's and 
 could tell a tale or two about him. But one must live 
 Then, too, some girls won't be helped. But you 
 you look different. Here's my 'bus. Remember keep 
 away from Moses." 
 
 She smiled, beckoned the conductor, and disappeared 
 from Zoe's sight as the girl went her way wonder- 
 ingly. 
 
 Should she go back to Moses or not? She felt 
 tempted to if only to see what would happen, though 
 what could happen, against her will, in a country like 
 England? She was strong enough not to be made to do 
 anything she disliked And yet, hadn't she been glad 
 enough to see that woman standing behind her glad 
 enough to feel that she could escape from the leering 
 youth whose eyes reminded her of what? 
 
 Back swung the vision of the couple she had seen be- 
 neath the lamp in the old cobble stoned street of Sainte 
 Croix. "With a little shudder she turned down towards 
 her rooms. Perhaps Roy would be there with his 
 clear blue eyes and loving smile. Roy who was as good 
 as these other men seemed wicked.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 BUT Zoe did not find Keith awaiting her, nor 
 although she stayed in on purpose not to miss him 
 did he come at all that day. Nor the next nor yet 
 the next. 
 
 His absence hurt her terribly, and his silence drove 
 her to despair. She had no inclination to seek for work 
 though the necessity for it was getting urgent slept 
 badly and lost her appetite. On the third day, to ease 
 her distress of mind, she went to the theater, but the 
 love story unfolded on the stage merely stimulated her 
 unrest and she returned home more wretched than ever. 
 
 To make things worse she was beginning to find the 
 world a harder place than she had dreamt it could 
 be. First of all, the guinea did not come from the Club, 
 and her timid request for it was ignored, and then her 
 mother's reply was short and to her mind unsym- 
 pathetic. She only enclosed a few shillings in response 
 for the demand for money, and did not know when she 
 could send more. But, perhaps, that was not neces- 
 sary, as Zoe was sure Deller would engage her. At any 
 rate she hoped so, as, through her ill health she had had 
 to postpone several lessons and had lost some of her 
 good pupils. She made no comment about Zoe's re- 
 fusal to go to Dunsworth, but regretted that she did 
 not feel up to coming to town as all her strength must 
 be husbanded for her work. 
 
 Zoe sneered as she read that recalling Mrs. Broome- 
 Taylor's words about duty. She was too annoyed by 
 the letter to feel sorry that misfortune and ill-news 
 
 185
 
 186 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 seemed to dodge her mother's footsteps. But she felt 
 positive that her mother was not so hard up as she 
 said, and had only written like this to make her go to 
 Dunsworth. Well she wasn't going, so there! 
 
 In the moments she was not brooding about Keith 
 she was puzzling over Grade's insinuations over the 
 strange woman's warning about Moses over all her 
 sensations throughout the day which had opened so en- 
 couragingly. And she told herself that she would go 
 to Moses in spite of all, if the other agents, Gracie had 
 mentioned, had nothing for her. She would go to- 
 morrow perhaps. But when to-morrow came she put 
 it off again until to-morrow, which, as all the world 
 knows, is a day that never comes. 
 
 So it was with everything else the advertisements 
 she meant to answer, the agencies she meant to visit 
 until at last the wolf was really at the door and she 
 had to buckle on her armor and face the fight, or 
 starve. 
 
 She tramped the streets from early morning till late 
 night in her fruitless search for employment, and her 
 quest took her into offices where the familiarity of her 
 would-be employers put her on her guard, and made her 
 refuse their offer of work with a sense of escape she 
 could not fathom. 
 
 For the same reason, although she climbed the stairs 
 to Moses' rooms more than once, she never crossed the 
 threshold. The minute her eyes fell upon the black 
 lettering on the door she recalled the stranger's words: 
 "Once you get into his clutches you're like a fly in a 
 spider's web." For her horizon had begun to widen 
 and the things she had puzzled over became clear, and 
 in such a way that her whole mind was distorted and 
 evil threatened everywhere. She saw it in faces where 
 it had no trace; she anticipated it in places where it 
 had no being ; she was seized with an overwhelming fear,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 187 
 
 and scurried away from lonely looking buildings as 
 though wild beasts were after her. 
 
 And all this time not a line from Keith who had 
 vanished completely from her life. Even Biddy Too- 
 good could not help her, and a pathetic letter, asking 
 why he was angry with her, remained unanswered. 
 She could only think that the uncle had found out 
 about her and put down his foot in such a way that 
 Keith could not help himself. Or that he had fallen 
 ill. 
 
 She was as lonely as any girl could be, for she had 
 never made friends with the girls at Leonora's and 
 had stopped her lessons. Nor did she look up Raynor, 
 for she was beginning to believe what Gracie had said 
 about him since endless applications at the agencies he 
 had recommended led to nothing but empty promises 
 of work to come. And in reply to her mother 's inquiries 
 she wrote back curtly on post cards that she was all 
 right and doing well. Not for words would she have 
 Dunsworth know how she had failed! 
 
 At last one morning she summoned up courage to tell 
 Mrs. Toogood that she must go she wanted cheaper 
 rooms she had only stayed here in the hope that Keith 
 might still look her up. But now a fortnight having 
 gone what was the good of waiting? 
 
 But Biddy would not hear of it. She had promised 
 Mr. Keith to look after her and the rent could wait. 
 He had probably gone abroad as he often did sud- 
 denly, with Sir Jasper and what would he say when he 
 came back and found her gone? Of course if she 
 wanted to leave because she was uncomfortable that was 
 a different thing but so cleverly did the old woman 
 manage that Zoe found herself compelled to stay to 
 spare her feelings, and to prove that her reason for 
 mentioning the subject had nothing to do with the 
 rooms, or the house, or the owner thereof.
 
 188 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 All the same her pride was up in arms charity she 
 would accept from none. And although Keith had 
 broken her heart she was not going to let him know it 
 nor starve either. 
 
 She shed a few tears after Biddy had left her and 
 made up her mind to go to the Club and demand her 
 guinea. That at least she had a right to and al- 
 though she need not worry about lodgings yet awhile 
 she could not live on air. 
 
 The secretary a smart young woman with a haughty 
 manner, who gave one the impression that she was doing 
 the work for the love of it, and for nothing so de- 
 basing as filthy lucre asked if she did not think the 
 advertisement of appearing at the Club sufficient pay- 
 ment; much better known artists were only too glad to 
 be allowed to perform there. But in this case, if pay- 
 ment had been promised Mrs. Desborough was the one 
 to go to, as she was responsible for the fees paid to the 
 artistes that night. She lived in Mount Street, she 
 would be there now why not try her? 
 
 Zoe had to persuade herself on the way that she had 
 earned the money and was merely asking her due, but 
 she was seized with shyness, and a longing to leave the 
 matter where it was, when she found herself before the 
 polished mahogany door in Mount Street. It was only 
 the dire need clamoring within that kept her there, 
 bravely facing the man-servant who answered her in- 
 quiry, whether his mistress was in, with a ready, "Yes, 
 Miss." 
 
 The sight of the richly furnished drawing-room 
 raised her hopes. Mrs. Desborough could afford to pay 
 the guinea several times over without feeling any loss. 
 That made it all the more surprising that there should 
 have been any delay about it and Zoe, as she glanced 
 around her, commented bitterly on the selfishness of 
 these rich people.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 189 
 
 "Well Miss Dereham and what can I do for you?" 
 asked Mrs. Desborough as she bustled in holding out her 
 hand, her handsome face covered with smiles. 
 
 But as Zoe stated her purpose the smiles gave way 
 to a look of extreme annoyance and the pleasant voice 
 grew rasping as she exclaimed: 
 
 "I never heard of such impertinence Oh, I don't 
 mean you of course you have a right to ask for pay- 
 ment, you did so well. I have already told the Club 
 people that I will have nothing to do with the matter! 
 They owe you the guinea and they must pay it. It's 
 disgraceful they haven't done so already! Such a fuss 
 for a paltry sum like that." 
 
 She was moving towards the door as she spoke, and 
 Zoe followed her. 
 
 "You quite understand I'm not to blame, don't you," 
 she asked, as they passed into the hall, "I should have 
 settled up long ago. It does one no good belonging to 
 a badly managed place like that. I shall resign. As 
 for you, insist on being paid I can quite understand 
 you feel annoyed if you were a poor girl it would be 
 too bad. Good morning." 
 
 Zoe was about to reply that she was a poor girl and 
 wanted the money desperately when she realized that 
 this pampered woman would never believe her just 
 because her clothes were tidy and she looked well fed. 
 So she laughed instead, for the humor of the situation 
 burst through her misery though if Mrs. Desborough 
 had really listened she would have realized how little 
 mirth was really in the sound. 
 
 "Yes. Isn't it funny!" she smiled back, making no 
 attempt to shake hands again, as the servant opened the 
 street door. "It must be horrid for you having to 
 make such a fuss!" 
 
 And out went Zoe into the clear gray morning boil- 
 ing with indignation and hurt pride and telling herself
 
 190 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 that it was no good going back to the Club. She might 
 just as well consider that she had received the guinea 
 and spent it, as alas, she had, several times over. 
 
 It occurred to her as she turned into Piccadilly that 
 she was not far from the address Keith had given her 
 and that there would be no harm in walking by, and see- 
 ing if she could catch a glimpse of him. Only to make 
 sure he was not ill to see the sunshine of his smile. 
 
 But as she reached a famous bookshop on the right, 
 some distance yet from where she had to turn off, she 
 became suddenly aware that he was behind her and 
 with him a tall fair girl, with a full figure and an 
 abundance of wavy hair. 
 
 ;. Her limbs trembled beneath her and she felt faint and 
 giddy, wondering whether to turn and face them or 
 whether to go on and let him overtake her. 
 
 Already their voices were close upon her ear her 
 faintness increased, she turned hurriedly to the shop 
 window for support. But he did not glance in her di- 
 rection, and the courage to speak, as the girl's skirt 
 brushed hers, failed her. The impulse to follow them 
 into the shop was immense. But common sense and 
 pride beat it down. So, she told herself, behaved the 
 adventuress in a penny novelette or a halfpenny paper 
 feuilleton but not so a Dereham. Besides he had 
 merely been her friend and she had no right to demand 
 anything from him. 
 
 Was this handsome girl the grocer's daughter ugly 
 thirty impossible ? If so why had he told her ? She 
 was very young and pretty. No one could deny that, 
 no matter how hateful she was. 
 
 Her eyes ran over the costly volumes in the window 
 and she read the titles mechanically. She felt as though 
 she would remember them always, that, with little ef- 
 fort, she would recall the whole scene until she died. 
 
 Then she moved on, glancing lingeringly at the door
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 191 
 
 as she passed; then in the street, at the expensively 
 dressed women, the good-looking men, the happy, care- 
 less, flappers. There was not one of these she did not 
 envy from the bottom of her heart for not one could 
 be as wretched, as friendless as herself. Even the 
 paper men near St. James's Church were better off. 
 And here at the short cut into Jermyn Street where 
 Keith's rooms were she paused, looked back and de- 
 cided that she had as much right as anyone to go into 
 the book shop that she had been a fool not to do so 
 that it was worth while going now, if only to see what 
 Roy would say. 
 
 She hurried back chiding herself for her stupidity. 
 Why should he ignore her, any more than another ac- 
 quaintance? why should she shrink from speaking to 
 him? 
 
 The door swung open to admit her. A courteous 
 whiteheaded man came forward. She named a book she 
 suddenly recalled; which had made a woman's name, 
 and probably her fortune. Then she glanced anxiously 
 around the shop as he turned back to fetch it. Not a 
 customer to be seen. One or two men were tidying the 
 various stands stacked with books of all descriptions. 
 Perhaps Keith had been turning them over perhaps 
 he was just round that bend at the far end. 
 
 She strolled timidly conscious that she was ob- 
 served. Not a sign! He, and the fair-haired girl had 
 gone! 
 
 Her heart, which had begun to sink sank lower still 
 as the white-headed man met her with the book she had 
 asked for. She had hoped he would not have it. she 
 longed for the courage to refuse it, but how could she 
 with all these tiresome men looking on and listening? 
 
 So, paying the four and sixpence smilingly, she faced 
 the street again, cursing herself for her folly in coming 
 back.
 
 192 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 By the time she reached the Circus the heart-sick feel- 
 ing had begun to wear off, under the admiring glances 
 thrown at her and she began to look for those that did 
 not come to try to catch glimpses of herself in the 
 windows she passed. 
 
 For although she was a wind-battered little butterfly, 
 she could still flutter her wings at the slightest sign 
 of sunshine still hope and believe that they would 
 carry her through this black cloud to a brighter, warmer 
 land. 
 
 She decided to go on to an Agency in Shaftesbury 
 Avenue, though she told herself it would merely be to 
 receive the same answer, the same horrible probing 
 which seemed the common feature of such places. But 
 it would be doing something and something had to be 
 done. She had just wasted four and sixpence on a use- 
 less book and a stupidly sentimental one for all it sold 
 in its thousands or was that why? She had only five 
 shillings and some odd coppers left, nothing to pawn, 
 no one to borrow from. Of course there was Madame 
 Dardino but she had not seen her since the night of her 
 reception, and Eaynor had never suggested her going 
 there again or she might eat humble pie and go to her 
 mother. 
 
 Both seemed horrible and impossible. As for Raynor, 
 she was angry with him and pride or was it instinct 
 told that she should not borrow from men. 
 
 She recalled a sentence she had heard in her child- 
 hood: 
 
 "I cannot dig, to beg I am ashamed," varying the 
 first line with: "I dare not steal," and wondering 
 which she would rather do if things came to the worst. 
 Beg or steal? Steal or beg? Beg, steal? Steal, beg 
 the words obsessed her, they danced before her eyes, they 
 filled her ears. Beg or steal?
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 193 
 
 She asked the question of the smiling poster of Harold 
 Hailey the pierrot of pierrots which looked down at 
 her from the walls of his theater. It was a huge head 
 larger than life size its eyes seemed to follow her. 
 
 "Laugh laugh!" they said, "Why worry? Smile, 
 smile on." 
 
 Other words slipped into her mind as she looked back 
 into the happy jovial face: 
 
 "Laugh, and the world laughs with you, 
 Weep, and you weep alone." 
 
 And a sudden idea seized her. Here was help ! Mere 
 chance had not brought her here to read the message of 
 those eyes. He had admired her dancing why not see 
 him now? 
 
 She stepped round the corner to the stage door, sure 
 that it would be open, as it was. And it was also un- 
 guarded so that she slipped into the narrow passage 
 and was just wondering which way to turn, when 
 Hailey 's hearty laugh fell on her ear. 
 
 Of course he might be very angry and refuse to speak 
 to her. But this was the moment fate had given her 
 and she could not allow her feelings of diffidence to rob 
 her of it. 
 
 She stepped on to the stage quite unexepectedly and 
 found herself face to face with the big man and two 
 others. They stared in amazement at her, and Hailey, 
 who was in his shirt sleeves, exclaimed: 
 
 "What in the name of thunder does this mean. 
 Where's Charlie?" 
 
 "O'h, please, Mr. Hailey, I'm sorry but no one stopped 
 me and I had to come," cried Zoe, springing forward 
 and looking appealingly into his face. "Don't you re- 
 member me?" 
 
 "Perfectly," he said, "But" 
 
 "I was passing and I wondered if you'd mind. For
 
 194 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 I thought that perhaps you'd give me a trial if you 
 have a vacancy. I'm much better now than when you 
 saw me for I've been learning with Madame Leonora, 
 and" 
 
 She paused. Excitement, want of food, the atmos- 
 phere of the place, all combined to make her feel faint 
 and giddy. 
 
 "Of course I remember you well," he said, picking 
 up his coat and putting it on. "You dance very well. 
 But I have nothing to give you. My company is com- 
 plete" 
 
 "Then it's no use " she faltered. 
 
 The note of despair in her voice seemed to touch him. 
 For he laid his hand kindly on her shoulder and said 
 encouragingly : 
 
 "I have nothing myself but, if you have no desire 
 to remain in London, you might try an old member of 
 my company, Dan Parsons. He's starting a seaside 
 troupe to be called 'The Yellow Ducklings.' You'll find 
 his office in Charing Cross Road, near the Tube I for- 
 get the number." 
 
 "Oh, I shall find it thank you so much. It is kind 
 of you." 
 
 "Not at all," he smiled. 
 
 "And I hope I haven't disturbed you by coming in 
 like this" she glanced round the stage as she spoke. 
 The other men were tidying up. 
 
 "Oh, dear, no," he exclaimed, shouting one or two re- 
 marks at them and turning back to her. "Another five 
 minutes and you wouldn't have found me. I'm sorry, 
 though, that I can't do more for you. This is a bad 
 place to come to for a 'shop' I never have a vacancy!" 
 
 ' ' That means you keep your people a long time ! ' ' she 
 smiled, walking out in front of him. "You can't have 
 it both ways, can you?" 
 
 "I'm quite content with things as they are," he
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 195 
 
 smiled. "Worry killed the cat you know and inci- 
 dentally a great many others. Let me give you a tip. 
 Never meet trouble halfway. Something's bound to 
 turn up, in the nick of time if you remember that, 
 and trust to fate, and " 
 
 ' ' I know ! ' ' exclaimed Zoe, her discretion slipping from 
 her. "I was in despair a minute ago, and and if I 
 hadn't suddenly thought of you, I don't know what I 
 should have done!" 
 
 "Is it as bad as that?" he murmured, his eyes look- 
 ing deep down into hers. "Poor little woman. Well, 
 Dan's sure to want you I'll guarantee that. But it's 
 no good going there now D'you know the time, or are 
 you lucky enough to have had your lunch? If not, 
 what's the objection to coming with me?" 
 
 They had reached the street and she was preparing 
 to say good-by. Could he see how hungry she was? 
 Had she revealed too much ? Or did he really want her 
 company? If only she could tell! She felt pinched, 
 and pale, and queer, but for all that she could not ac- 
 cept his charity and yet wouldn't it be silly to say no 
 and run the risk of offending him? 
 
 ' ' Thank you very much, ' ' she faltered, ' ' But ' ' 
 
 "But me no buts!" he laughed, "I'm famished, and 
 have no heart for arguments. Come along. We'll drop 
 into 'L 'Entente Cordiale,' and see Society and Bohemia 
 feeding out of the same platter. It's better than any 
 Zoo, and the latest thing in town!" 
 
 So laughing and talking he piloted her across the 
 turning and along the pavement to the next street. She 
 felt sure he had guessed her plight if only by his anxi- 
 ety to put her at her ease that his big kind heart was 
 full of pity for her. But she no longer minded for his 
 eyes held more than kindness, admiration the wine of 
 life to her overflowed from them into his smile.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 FORTUNE having decided to smile upon Zoe, she 
 forgot her troubles and surrendered herself to the 
 enjoyment of the hour. She managed to imbibe a good 
 deal of the optimism irradiated by Hailey, and took in 
 all that was going on about her. 
 
 They had just got to the coffee stage when she saw 
 Dardino come in followed by Raynor. Both looked sur- 
 prised, and not a little impressed, at her being with 
 Hailey, and made straight for their table. Dardino, all 
 smiles and tenderness, reproached her for her silence and 
 questioned her about her work. She was so charming 
 that Zoe wondered if she had ever been anything else, 
 and opened out to her as a flower to the sun. At the 
 same time she was conscious that Raynor, who had 
 dropped into earnest conversation with Hailey, glanced 
 apprehensively at her as she told of her experiences. 
 
 "Poor little girl," murmured Dardino, taking her 
 hand caressingly. "Why didn't you come to me?" 
 
 Zoe said nothing to remind her of the way in which 
 she had dismissed her when she had done so, but she 
 wondered if she dare hint at her impecuniosity and bor- 
 row the wherewithal to pay her way until she received 
 her first week's salary. Fatalist as she was, she be- 
 lieved that this meeting was due to fortune's sudden in- 
 terest in her and that the moment was ripe for her to 
 get something out of it. She would certainly want 
 money to enable her to accept the "shop" Dan Parsons 
 was going to give her. But the words stuck in her gul- 
 let. Borrowing was so like begging especially when 
 one did not know if one could ever repay. Neverthe- 
 
 196
 
 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 197 
 
 less, encouraged by Dardino's smiles, she could not re- 
 sist putting out a feeler or two. And the sudden nar- 
 rowing of the singer's eyes, and hardening of her face, 
 as she laughingly remarked that all were in the same 
 boat and as poor as mice in spite of expensive clothes, 
 showed that she had noticed how much smarter Zoe 
 looked and that it was no use expecting anything from 
 that quarter. 
 
 But, she whispered, as Zoe was no longer a baby, per- 
 haps she knew that there were ways of getting money if 
 ever she became desperately hard up. For Mr. Hailey 
 was as rich as he was kind and a kiss, or the mere prom- 
 ise of one, would be sufficient guarantee for him. 
 
 Zoe glanced apprehensively at the actor to see if he 
 had heard, and blushed as Dardino laughed wickedly. 
 The dislike she had been feeling for her, surged up 
 again and she rose gladly to her feet as Hailey ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "You must be going, Miss Zoe and so must I. 
 Good-by, Madame. You look more charming than ever ! 
 It grieves me to leave you here, but duty calls!" 
 
 Outside he took Zoe's arm. It was a quiet little street, 
 practically a slum; no one troubled to notice them, once 
 the restaurant doors swung back and the smart com- 
 missionaire turned in. 
 
 "If you will let a fairly old man advise you, Miss 
 Zoe," he said, solemnly, "I should suggest your having 
 as little to do with that lady and her friends as you 
 can. Oh, yes I see what you think. I have to know 
 her, and I'm a man. But you're a woman One little 
 breath against your name and you lose your reputation, 
 which is one of the fairest of your possessions. You 
 have chosen this life, and with care, courage, and de- 
 termination, you can remain as free from evil as you 
 are now. But you must pick your way I know hun- 
 dreds of good women in the profession, but I also know
 
 198 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 thousands who are bad. If you were my daughter, or 
 my sister I should take you away out of it at once, 
 but" 
 
 "I must work " began Zoe. "My mother consents 
 to" 
 
 "Yes so I supposed and of course it's no business 
 of mine, but I had to get if off my chest all the same, 
 and I feel all the better for it. You'll forgive me, won't 
 you? You see I'm treating you as though you really 
 belonged to my company. The girls call me Daddy 
 Hailey because I'm such a martinet with them And 
 now we must part only there's another little thing: I 
 couldn't help hearing what you said about your search 
 for work, and so look here " he took a bank note from 
 his letter-case and pressed it, with some loose coins, into 
 her hand. 
 
 She started, blushing hotly as she recalled Dardino's 
 words. Not that she minded if he kissed her, but there 
 was something more than humiliating in accepting 
 now. 
 
 "Thank you, but I I can't," she stammered, push- 
 ing it back. 
 
 "I'm afraid you must," he smiled. "You'll want 
 something to rig yourself out in the Yellow Duckling 
 costume, and even if you start work next week you'll 
 have to live somehow. You can't accept a 'hop' with- 
 out the necessary, and I presume your funds are low 
 after being out so long. So please take it. Listen I 
 had a little sister once with eyes like yours. She died 
 starved. Help came too late to save her, for I was 
 abroad when she fell ill after slaving like a navy at a 
 typewriter. There was plenty owing her but authors 
 are bad payers, as a rule and she had neither the cour- 
 age, nor the heart to bother them. So it's for her sake 
 I want you to take this, I'm sure you'd do the same for 
 me."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 199 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Zoe, touched by the look on his face, 
 "And I don't know what to say but thank you." 
 
 "That's right. And now good-by and good luck. I 
 sail for America shortly but I hope to hear grand things 
 about you when I return " 
 
 "You shall! I promise you that," she cried after 
 him as hopeful as ever, as ready to promise whether 
 sure of keeping her word or not. 
 
 And then she glanced at her precious handful: a five 
 pound note, two pounds and half a sovereign. How 
 good, how kind he was ! And he had not even begged a 
 kiss, he had given it of course she would pay it back 
 just because she reminded him of his dead sister! 
 And Raynor had said nothing and Roy had forgotten 
 her. 
 
 She walked quickly to Dan Parsons' offices and found 
 him a poor replica of Hailey. Imitation being the sin- 
 cerest form of flattery, it was evident that he greatly 
 admired his former chief. His face being long and thin, 
 his body gaunt, and his eyes somewhat colorless and 
 small, it said something for his powers of mimicry that 
 one could detect his model in every turn of his head, 
 every gesture of his hands, every intonation of his voice. 
 
 And of course he engaged Zoe on the spot. He told 
 her he would have done so anyhow, if old Hailey had 
 not telephoned a minute or two ago to tell him about 
 her. The Yellow Ducklings would begin to quack at 
 Bournemouth the following Monday. The name was 
 good, wasn't it? Yellow for the costumes ducklings 
 for themselves they were all dear little duckies nine 
 in all, three ladies beside herself, four sweet little 
 cough-drops, of which she was most certainly the young- 
 est, and also the h'm 
 
 Meanwhile there was her costume to be got, which she 
 would pay for and rehearsals to attend each day, in 
 Maiden Lane. She would be put through her facings
 
 200 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 there, to-morrow. Salary two pounds a week, subject 
 to the clause: no work, no pay. Some silly idiots had 
 been kicking up ructions about that but they 'd soon wish 
 they hadn't for managers held together and the clause 
 had been observed by the best actors in the land. If 
 she didn't like it, she needn't take it she could go. 
 
 The good food and the wine Hailey had forced upon 
 her were beginning to have their effect, so that she hardly 
 heeded his garrulity and was ready to agree to any- 
 thing. She promised to be punctual at rehearsal and 
 asked for the address of the costume people. She was 
 glad he had engaged her glad she was the youngest of 
 the sweet little cough-drops, and the wouldn't he tell 
 her what he meant? 
 
 "I mustn't do that!" he laughed. "That was a mo- 
 ment of aberration on my part but when you get 
 home, you'll soon know." 
 
 "How?" she asked, glancing smilingly from beneath 
 her lashes. 
 
 "You needn't look further than your mirror there! 
 But don't say I told you or my life won't be worth 
 living I can assure you." 
 
 She was ready to believe that when she met her three 
 colleagues. "Old hens" would have suited them better 
 than "yellow ducklings," though the fat one who was 
 also fair and forty without her war paint waddled suf- 
 ficiently to be suspected of webbed toes. The other two 
 were of any age over twenty-five ; the one tall, thin and 
 dark, the other like a shrimp every bone snowing in 
 her neck and face with restless eyes and an unceasing 
 tongue. 
 
 Zoe knew her beauty affronted them and roused envy 
 in their hearts, and guessed that she would have any- 
 thing but a pleasant time with them. But she was de- 
 termined to stick to this if she could besides, would 
 not the men all be on her side ?
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 201 
 
 And so she counted the days to her going and, con- 
 trariwise, she dreaded it for although she was once more 
 the gay butterfly, with no care for the morrow, and had 
 renewed the game of letting men love her while she 
 laughed, there were moments when her longing for Roy 
 would not be quelled, when she plunged into the bustle 
 of rehearsals, the fuss of packing, with avidity. She 
 did not want to think about him nor about the little 
 mother down at Dunsworth who had never troubled to 
 come to her, nor to send her another farthing piece. 
 She had certainly written and asked Zoe repeatedly to 
 go there, but the girl had replied that her work was just 
 as important as teaching and that she must therefore 
 "husband her strength for it," else she might fall ill 
 and become a burden again. To such a Roland for her 
 Oliver, Mrs. Dereham had nothing to say, and accepted 
 the news of Zoe's coming tour without comment. If 
 there was time, she, Zoe, she might run down to say 
 good-by, though wasn't that rather silly, when she 
 was merely touring round the coast? 
 
 Sometimes in the dead of night, her conscience would 
 reproach her for her heartless indifference to one who 
 had devoted her whole life to her service had sacrificed 
 all for a careless selfish daughter. Then she resolved 
 to go to Dunsworth by the first train but when morn- 
 ing came that resolution flew away like many another. 
 
 She had a riotous time those last few days, and proved 
 to the hilt the truth of those words: "Laugh and the 
 world laughs with you" she forgot her bitterness 
 towards Raynor, her dawning belief in Gracie's insinua- 
 tions, her fears and doubts of all mankind. But, if she 
 ever paused to think, she realized that this mad rushing 
 about and the delight she experienced in the society of 
 men all the yellow ducklings were at her feet, Raynor 
 had met her several times, Dan Parsons had supped with 
 her, ."on the strict q. t., lest the other ladies of the
 
 202 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 company got wind of it" were but the shadow of a 
 happiness she coveted, and which she felt no one but 
 Boy could ever give her. Then the depths of her love 
 for him seemed fathomless, though a few minutes later 
 she would be plotting and planning which of the yellow 
 ducklings should bask in her smiles, and whether she 
 should see Raynor or Hailey. 
 
 Excepting when she had called at the theater to tell 
 him she had got the "shop," she had not seen the burly 
 actor again. He had beamed kindly upon her, given 
 her a few more words of advice regarding life in a tour- 
 ing company, wished her luck and dismissed her as he 
 was due at rehearsal. 
 
 It is possible that if he had realized the awful igno- 
 rance of her mind doubly awful now because of the 
 murky knowledge it was beginning to store up, and 
 which no sweet wholesomeness was ever to dispel he 
 might have done more for her. But he thought her 
 well primed for the fight, with a mind like an airy well- 
 swept room where nothing foul can linger, nothing evil 
 thrive and let her go. He regrets it bitterly now 
 when he recalls her eyes, so like the little sister's to 
 whom help also came too late. 
 
 Later, Zoe, herself, believed that if she had got into 
 his company her life would have had another end. For 
 she might then have learned the sacredness of the im- 
 mutable laws of Nature, and her true duty to herself, 
 her fellows and her God. One wonders how many other 
 girls could say the same. 
 
 But whatever clouds were gathering around Zoe it 
 was pretty clear that she had no suspicion of them now, 
 as she came home late on the afternoon of her last day 
 in town. 
 
 "You're back early," exclaimed Mrs. Toogood, as she 
 opened the door. "I thought you were going to Duns- 
 worth."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 203 
 
 "No, I've changed my mind. It really isn't neces- 
 sary. I only said I'd go if I had time. And, as you 
 know, I haven't. And, Mrs. Biddy, while I think of 
 it, I want to pay you what I owe you. At least some. 
 I waited until to-day to see if I could manage it." 
 
 "Sure, Miss, there's no hurry. I can wait." 
 
 "I've kept you waiting longer than I like. So you 
 just bring up your bill and we'll settle it. I only ask 
 this in return: that you let me know at once if ever 
 Mr. Keith comes after I have gone and if he seems 
 sorry to miss me " 
 
 "You'll know that most as soon as anyone," chuckled 
 Mrs. Biddy. 
 
 "How can I, if I'm away!" exclaimed Zoe, wonder- 
 ing at her inexplicable mirth. She had never told Biddy 
 that she had seen Hoy with the fair-haired girl. Even 
 the most communicative individual has an inner shrine 
 which none may enter. 
 
 "But you haven't gone yet, have you?" queried the 
 old woman, glancing up the stairs as though someone 
 were listening to her. 
 
 "What do you mean?" whispered Zoe. 
 
 "You go up and see." 
 
 Joy, fear, love and anger sprang to Zoe's eyes as 
 she ran breathlessly upstairs and burst into her sitting- 
 room to fall straight into Keith's outstretched arms. 
 
 "Zoe, Zoe, I love you, I love you!" he murmured. 
 "Oh, Zoe, why?" 
 
 "What are you doing here?" she asked, freeing her- 
 self and pushing him back roughly. 
 
 "I've come to see you, of course." 
 
 ''Why?" 
 
 "Because I long for my little Zoe." 
 
 "Why haven't you come before?" 
 
 "Oh, hang it, Zoe, I'm not a bally school child to 
 be catechised like this!"
 
 204 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "No, indeed, you're nothing so nice!" she retorted 
 passionately. "You're a beast! You're cruel and un- 
 kind! You've only come because you're tired of your 
 grocer's daughter who's as ugly as sin as old as the 
 hills ! Psh ! I hate you and your lies ! ' ' 
 
 "Zoe!" He looked hurt and surprised. 
 
 "I've seen her with you! You didn't see me. But 
 I saw you both and she's young and pretty, and any- 
 thing but what you said." 
 
 "If I tell you that you probably saw me with my sis- 
 ter" 
 
 "I shouldn't believe you. You said your sister was 
 older and not so pretty as myself. And this one is 
 quite quite as nice, in her own way " 
 
 "All the same, I haven't met the grocer's daughter 
 yet and " 
 
 "Then, why did you stay away not answer my let- 
 ter make no sign?" 
 
 "Because I love you and thought it best for us both 
 to keep away. But all the time I've been longing to 
 see you, wondering what you were doing " 
 
 "You never troubled what I thought nor how I 
 felt." 
 
 "I did but I tried not to. You've got into my blood ; 
 I'm mad with love for you. I've tried to forget you, 
 but you haunt me morning, noon and night and I 
 want you more and more " 
 
 "You mustn't say that," faltered Zoe, her blood 
 quickening. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Because you have to marry that other " The 
 tears swam in her eyes, she began to tremble. 
 
 "All the same it's you I want my Zoe. You're mine 
 no other man shall have you!" 
 
 He caught her in his arms and kissed her passion- 
 ately.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 205 
 
 "Leave me alone " she whispered. 
 
 "I can't I won't. I have you now. You shall not 
 go away and leave me. You must stay for me and " 
 
 A low knock at the door made her start away, push- 
 ing him hurriedly aside. To her amazement, her mother 
 entered smilingly. 
 
 "As the mountain won't come to Mahomet, Mahomet 
 must come to the mountain," she said, as she dropped 
 on to a chair and glanced inquiringly at Roy. "I felt 
 I must see you before you go away again. "Won't you 
 introduce your friend?" 
 
 Keith, looking somewhat sheepish as Zoe introduced 
 him, bowed and muttered something about going. 
 
 "Don't let me drive you away," said Mrs. Dereham. 
 
 "You don't. I have a lot to do. I'm off to Ire- 
 land in the morning, at least, I think I am." 
 
 He did not look at Zoe as he spoke, though he must 
 have guessed she was surprised. Considering he had 
 just asked her to stay in town for him, he could not 
 mean this really. He would come back later and ex- 
 plain; come back and finish telling her of his love. 
 Even while her eyes noted the terrible change in her 
 mother, she was wishing with all her heart that she had 
 stayed away. She followed him to the door with a care- 
 less good-by, and came back feeling that all brightness 
 had vanished from the room. 
 
 "And now tell me all all " exclaimed Mrs. Dere- 
 ham. "I haven't seen you since you came back from 
 Folkestone though we are barely ten miles apart ! Do 
 you really like the work better than teaching?" 
 
 "Rather!" exclaimed Zoe. "I'd rather starve than 
 teach again. When I was tramping about for work 
 and couldn't get anything, I wouldn't have done it 
 for for " She faltered, seeing that her mother had 
 pricked her ears and was looking intently into her face. 
 
 "When was that?" she asked. "When were you
 
 206 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 tramping about for work? "Was that when you wrote 
 you were getting on and ? But of course it was. Oh, 
 my poor little girl! You didn't want me to worry 
 you guessed I couldn 't help you and I believed you and 
 all the time you were in want perhaps You did that 
 for me, and I was thinking you just a thoughtless lit- 
 tle girl who didn't much care for her poor old 
 mother" 
 
 "Don't say that! I do I do and I've been horrid. 
 I wouldn't come because of my stupid feelings. I didn't 
 want to see you and and if I was hard up it was my 
 fault I wasted my money " 
 
 Zoe, impulsive as ever and truer than usual to her 
 better nature flung herself on her knees by her mother 
 and clung to her. She loved her and she had been 
 horrid! She meant to do heaps for her and she had 
 done nothing but now now things would be differ- 
 ent. She had a good "shop" and when she had paid all 
 she owed 
 
 "What do you owe?" caught up her mother, the hor- 
 ror of debt in her eyes. 
 
 "Nothing to speak of" 
 
 "Tell me all I shall not go until you do and the 
 the truth, Zoe I can help you I have received one or 
 two good checks lately though I regret to say they're 
 the last I shall have from those pupils but of course 
 one can't keep them forever! So you must tell me 
 everything promise me that." 
 
 Zoe told her of her debt to Biddy Toogood, her loan 
 from Hailey ; how she had had to buy this and that for 
 her new post; how she had just enough to keep herself 
 until she got more next week she said nothing about 
 paying Biddy first. Now she saw a chance of clear- 
 ing herself of monetary worries, she no longer wished 
 to hide anything. And she really believed that some 
 feeling of consideration for her mother had made her
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 207 
 
 struggle on alone yes, she really believed it and was 
 glad her mother did. Of course, she wouldn't have told 
 all even now if her mother hadn't said she had plenty 
 of money, as though she expected to have to pay out 
 a lot. And of course it meant a sermon she quite ex- 
 pected that. 
 
 And when she had told of the wrong of borrowing 
 from strange men why? well, because no one did it 
 no one nice at all events, Mrs. Dereham took Hailey's 
 address and asked for Biddy's bill. And then she re- 
 ferred to Keith. His presence in Zoe's room had trou- 
 bled her although she had heard from the old woman 
 downstairs that he was all that he should be. But such 
 friendships made people talk. The Jacob affair proved 
 how a purely innocent matter could be distorted into 
 an evil one. Her darling must promise not to let men 
 visit her not that she didn't trust her, but because 
 men were not to be trusted any more than the tongues 
 of neighbors. Why not? Well, one had to remembei* 
 that there was a difference between men and women. 
 And, however charming Keith was, a girl could not fa- 
 vor one man more than another without running risks 
 and the gamut of evil tongues. Yes, she agreed that 
 girls were stupid that their conversation was limited 
 and boring, but it would be wiser to put up with it than 
 to be considered fast. 
 
 It was the usual twaddle, guarded and mystifying, 
 many well-meaning women talk the chamber of horrors 
 they hint at being often nothing but a roomful of in- 
 offensive dummies in whom one's interest would die at 
 sight. But it sent Zoe's thoughts helter-skelter to 
 Gracie's words, and as she put on her hat to go out with 
 her mother, her puzzled eyes asked of the equally trou- 
 bled one in the glass: "Why? Why? Why?" 
 
 They dined at a quiet little restaurant not far from 
 the station, where presently Zoe saw her mother off,
 
 208 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 with many promises to write, to be good, to borrow from 
 no man. 
 
 Then, feeling much like a schoolboy released after be- 
 ing kept in, she hurried back to Berners Street, hoping 
 to find Keith there. 
 
 But he was not there, nor did he come. She sobbed 
 half through the night, and slept so heavily towards 
 morning that she only joined the Yellow Ducklings as 
 their train was about to start,
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE Yellow Ducklings opened to a good house on 
 the Monday, and Zoe's dancing and singing were 
 certainly among their best items. But as their experi- 
 ences were much the same as those of similar companies 
 barn-like rooms, dreary shelters, tawdry theaters, and 
 sparse or dwindling audiences, it would be waste of 
 time to enlarge upon them. Others have written of 
 such things, more than enough. So, too, of squabbles 
 and jealousies like those Zoe was subjected to from the 
 first. In real life, as in fiction, the prettiest girl has 
 generally a bad time with her own sex. 
 
 Suffice it to say, therefore, that the Yellow Ducklings, 
 although no worse and no better than many other 
 troupes who have weathered the storms of years, were 
 destined never to take to the water after the manner 
 of their kind. One can hardly explain why. It may 
 be that Dan Parsons lacked the charm and originality 
 of the man he so obviously wished to be taken for, and 
 thus aroused resentment in the breasts of his hearers 
 who might have suffered him willingly as himeslf; or 
 that the audiences in the places they visited were more 
 exacting and sophisticated than one expects seaside au- 
 diences to be, or again that discord in the camp sowed 
 discontent without. Whatever the cause the fact re- 
 mains that, after a more or less disastrous five weeks, 
 Zoe found herself stranded at Scarborough with two 
 weeks' salary owing and the clause, no work no pay, 
 applicable to at least four days of that. 
 
 Like the grasshopper of the fable, she had nothing by 
 her. She had been so sure that the morrow would take 
 
 209
 
 210 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 care of itself, had taken her experiences in town so lit- 
 tle to heart, that she was in greater difficulties than 
 ever. Money is said to burn holes in some pockets; it 
 certainly did in Zoe's. The moment she received it she 
 was in a fever to spend it on dress, on food, or what- 
 ever whim she had at the moment. Her hunger for 
 the good things of the earth was all the greater because 
 of its repression during the lean years of childhood. 
 And the salary which had seemed adequate in theory 
 was anything but sufficient in practice. It had been 
 supplemented by several relays by her mother, but now, 
 although she had written to tell of their disaster, she 
 had received no reply, and reflected bitterly that there 
 was no danger of her borrowing from a man, as the few 
 she knew in Scarborough were as poor as herself. 
 Moreover, they were all fair-weather friends the type 
 to lark about with, to tease, to kiss perhaps, but cer- 
 tainly not to confide in. She had learnt a great deal 
 since she left London, and knew that her mother's warn- 
 ings had been justified. But for all that she was strong 
 enough to take care of herself. There was only one 
 man in whose presence she felt like wax, and that was 
 because she loved him. Yes she loved him, although 
 he had kept away and only written once from Dublin. 
 Why had he left her like that? She called herself 
 horrid, and base, and everything despicable under the 
 sun, but she could not help thinking that it was the 
 shabby genteel appearance of her mother which had 
 frightened him away. 
 
 She had just had a stormy argument with her land- 
 lady, who was the antithesis of Biddy Toogood, and was 
 feeling utterly depressed at her impotency when there 
 was a knock at the door. "Come in," she cried, and 
 in walked Lydia Haynes, one of her late colleagues. 
 She had taken a fancy to Zoe, who had helped her with 
 some French songs and nursed her through a cold.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 211 
 
 "I've come to see how you're getting on," she said, 
 smiling. "And if you're doing nothing, I want you 
 to come out and have some tea." 
 
 Zoe, who had touched nothing since the morning, 
 when a weak cup of tea and a crust had done their best 
 to stem her hunger, looked suspiciously at Lydia, who 
 had seemed as hard up as herself. 
 
 "No, thanks. I've had tea " she stammered. 
 
 "Of course, but you can eat another. It's my party 
 birthday, if you like I've asked the others to meet 
 us at the Orchid Rooms high tea it is cutlets and 
 sweetbreads." 
 
 Zoe's mouth watered she felt faint with hunger. 
 The smell of the landlady's bloater had nearly sent her 
 mad a little while ago. 
 
 "Is it your birthday?" she asked. 
 
 "In a sort of way. Or funeral, if you like. For 
 I've got a 'shop' and go to London by the six-thirty." 
 
 "Oh, Lydia I'm so glad" 
 
 "Well, show it by putting on your hat and com- 
 ing." 
 
 "I will but I'm not hungry." 
 
 "Never mind that, nor am I but I daresay the oth- 
 ers are. I tried to get Dan, but he won't show his 
 face. He's ashamed, poor fellow he knows he's got 
 us into a hole, and can't help us out and he's starving 
 himself" 
 
 "Starving Dan!" 
 
 "Well, why not? Doesn't he owe us all money?" 
 
 Zoe looked disappointed. She had felt sure Lydia 
 had got her salary and was beginning to hope that hers 
 was also coming. 
 
 "I know what you're thinking," said Lydia, "but 
 you may as well say good-by to that money and tod- 
 dle home with me." 
 
 "Oh, I can't! I'm expecting a letter from my
 
 212 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 mother " began Zoe, coloring hotly as she turned to 
 the glass and put on her hat she had just taken out of 
 a drawer. 
 
 Lydia eyed her enviously and sighed. 
 
 "I like your pluck," she said slowly. "If I had one 
 ounce of it, I shouldn't be going where I am " 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Zoe, turning suddenly. 
 "Don't you want to go, then?" 
 
 "I do and I don't. It's a job I've refused a dozen 
 times or more but I'm going now just because I can't 
 put up with this kind of life any longer. After all, 
 I've stood it six years and I'm sick of it. So I wired 
 to somebody who somebody I know. And this morn- 
 ing the money came look!" 
 
 She opened her purse. Zoe saw gold, gold, gold! 
 
 "Oh!" she gasped, her eyes searching Lydia 's face 
 inquiringly. Lydia shrank back with a little laugh. 
 
 "And there's more where it comes from!" she ex- 
 claimed, her voice shrill with excitement. "More and 
 more! I'll never starve again if I know it. I've been 
 a fool for so long. It's bad pay sweating low wages 
 salaries we never get and the like that send us girls 
 where we'd never go through any fault of our own 
 but for all that, don't you take to the life " 
 
 "What life?" asked Zoe, awed by the other's face. 
 
 "The life you never come back from once you take 
 to it where people women especially make you stay, 
 and hate you and look on you as dirt. And you'd 
 feel worse than any, 'cause you're of gentle blood. But 
 there, what am I saying? I forget what a baby you 
 are!" 
 
 "I'm not a baby!" 
 
 "You are and a naughty one, too. You play with 
 fire. I've often watched you wondering when you would 
 get burnt. But you're either very cute or you've got 
 a jolly good guardian angel to "
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 213 
 
 "What do you mean? Tell me tell me " inter- 
 rupted Zoe, seizing her by the arm. 
 
 "Shall I shall I?" teased Lydia. "Are you sure 
 you're as innocent as you look that you won't turn 
 from me afterwards as though I'm not fit to come near 
 you " 
 
 "Of course I sha'n't, silly tell!" 
 
 Lydia hesitated, blushed, tossed her head, and told her 
 story in a few words. She ended with an appealing 
 glance at the silent, white-faced girl. 
 
 "I oughtn't to have told you, but you made me," she 
 murmured. 
 
 To her amazement Zoe burst into tears and threw her- 
 self into her arms. 
 
 "Oh, you poor, poor thing!" she sobbed. "Why 
 should I turn from you ? Besides, you haven 't gone yet 
 you won't go!" 
 
 Lydia laughed and tossed her head. 
 
 "I'm going right enough I want to enjoy life to 
 have nice clothes and good food and a bed to lie down 
 in without worrying about the rent. I hate poverty 
 and makeshifts. What have we done to deserve 
 that?" 
 
 Zoe wiped her eyes, thrilling with sympathy. She 
 understood only too well what Lydia felt and the shock 
 of what she had heard, coupled with her misery and 
 hunger, made her feel too faint-hearted to say more. 
 But throughout the meal when the remaining members 
 of the disbanded troupe, whose funds had not yet en- 
 abled them to move on, tried to hide the ache of an 
 empty stomach, and a still more empty purse, by light 
 cynicism and gay banter, she kept her eyes on Lydia. 
 What was this life she was going to where purses were 
 crammed with gold and one was never hungry? What 
 the little Lydia had said had not enlightened her at 
 all as to the consequences of sin she only saw the temp-
 
 214 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 tation as Lydia saw it the ending of a life of privation 
 in the lap of luxury, at the cost of what? the disap- 
 proval of the well-fed and well-dressed, of people like 
 Mrs. Broome-Taylor and her kind of simple-minded 
 women like her mother. She knew so little and yet 
 she guessed so much, that she tingled all over with 
 shame when the others asked what Lydia 's new "shop" 
 was, and she retorted that she wasn't going to give them 
 the chance of sneaking it from her, by telling them. 
 
 But when they had seen her off at the station and 
 sung "For he's a jolly good fellow" and made quite 
 a commotion on the platform, she had turned away with 
 tears in her eyes and a wild envy in her heart wonder- 
 ing why Lydia cried so, Lydia who was going to enjoy 
 life as she had never enjoyed it before. 
 
 Ah! If only she had the chance! 
 
 May Morton, the stout contralto who was going north 
 the next day, to join another company, had just asked 
 her what she meant to do, when suddenly she saw Ray- 
 nor coming from the booking office, his face beaming 
 with smiles. She darted towards him with a little 
 scream of delight. 
 
 "So poor little Zoe has ceased to quack for bread," 
 he laughed, as he took her outstretched hands. 
 
 "It's been awful awful " she sobbed. 
 
 ' ' I was afraid that 's why I kept my eye on your 
 movements, and came down. And just as we were pass- 
 ing the station I saw you with those others." 
 
 "You came on purpose to see me?" she interrupted, 
 in astonishment. 
 
 "For what other reason does little Zoe think I'm 
 here?" 
 
 "I don't know but it seemed too good to be true. 
 Everybody has forgotten me my mother Ho 
 everybody " 
 
 "Well, I haven't although you haven't always been
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 215 
 
 very kind to me, ' ' he smiled, slipping his hand through her 
 arm and leading her towards a beautiful gray motor-car 
 waiting just outside the station. "Get in, my child, and 
 tell me where you lodge." 
 
 And he whisked her away almost before she realized 
 it, before the wondering eyes of May Morton and the 
 others. 
 
 "Little Zoe little Zoe, it's nice to see you again," 
 he murmured, slipping his arm round her and draw- 
 ing her gently to him. And she yielded willingly. He 
 was good and kind when all the world seemed hard 
 and the touch of his arm was soothing and it was 
 nice to be loved again. 
 
 Before they reached the small street with its rows 
 of ugly houses, all with the same dingy look, the same 
 lace curtains, the same card in almost every window 
 announcing that apartments were to be had, he had 
 heard all she had to tell had, by his fatherly air, ban- 
 ished all feeling of distrust from her mind, and won 
 her promise to let him take her back to town that night 
 back to Biddy Toogood if she liked though he knew 
 of nicer rooms than hers. 
 
 "Do you mean near Madame Dardino's?" she asked, 
 a little nervously. "Will Madame Dardino be ' 
 
 "Don't you bother your pretty head about our dear 
 friend she's gone abroad." 
 
 "Abroad! But you" 
 
 "I've been left behind, as you see. And I'm glad, 
 for I can look after you, though at first I was just as 
 as surprised as you are, but there, one doesn't ex- 
 pect gratitude from women." 
 
 "How can you say that? I'm grateful enough, I 
 know." 
 
 "You shall prove it to me later eh?" he smiled. 
 "As for the rooms, I'll tell you all about them presently. 
 Here's your street, and I'll leave you for half an hour
 
 216 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 that'll be enough for your packing and settling up 
 with your landlady?" 
 
 "Yes but If my letter hasn't come, she'll 
 she'll " She faltered painfully. The words "I can- 
 not dig, to beg I am ashamed," jumped to her mind. 
 He understood at once, and pulled some money from 
 his pocket. 
 
 "Oh, of course here you are you must have the 
 wherewithal, mustn't you? Now, don't be silly we're 
 friends, aren't we? If it makes you happier, I'll let 
 you pay me back some day. And look here, if you want 
 to leave an address, you'd better give Berners Street." 
 
 The letter had not come, but she was too excited 
 to mind. For the moment Raynor was the nicest crea- 
 ture in the land, the kindest. It was sweet of him 
 to think of her, when he must be feeling so wretched 
 about Dardino but she would be as nice as possible 
 to help him to forget. And they were going all the way 
 by car, and, for a time, she could imagine that all 
 this luxury was really hers. 
 
 She paid no attention to the landlady's veiled re- 
 marks and sneering manner, and was ready and wait- 
 ing, with all her old light-heartedness, long before the 
 gray car came skimming down the road. Lydia was not 
 the only one who meant to enjoy life ! 
 
 She looked furtively at Raynor as he smoked con- 
 tentedly by her side. If only he were Roy ! But after 
 all, as lie had forgotten her again, he wasn't worth re- 
 calling, and any nice man was better than none! 
 
 "What is little Zoe thinking about so solemnly?" 
 asked Raynor suddenly, throwing away his cigarette and 
 moving closer to her. 
 
 "First, about the rooms you mentioned " she fal- 
 tered. 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 "About the time we'd get to London."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 217 
 
 "Does that matter very much " 
 
 "No only " She hesitated. This was the first 
 time she had realized how far off London really was. 
 
 "We might have to put up on the way," he ventured. 
 "There are good hotels at York and Doncaster and in 
 between as well. Bunting is a good chauffeur, but he 
 can't go on forever. He's been driving all day, as it 
 is. Though I ask nothing better than to sit like this 
 for hours," he murmured, slipping his arm round 
 her again. "For I love little Zoe, I love her love 
 her!" 
 
 She tried to speak, but her tongue failed her, whilst 
 the luxuriance of the car, the rapid traveling through 
 the fresh air made her feel drowsy and unwilling to 
 move. 
 
 "And I'm going to take care of her," he went on, 
 his lips close to her ear. ' ' She 's never going to be poor 
 again never going to live in horrid stuffy rooms 
 never going to want for she's my Zoe my very, very 
 own, isn't she?" 
 
 She heard it all as in a dream; she had not slept for 
 nights. His face above hers gave way to Roy's. She 
 smiled back through half-closed eyes and nodded 
 sleepily. This was good life would never be hard 
 again. 
 
 Zoe slept until they got to Doncaster. They had come 
 at lightning speed. The sudden stop and burr of the 
 machine, coupled with the sound of many voices, pierced 
 her subconsciousness and she awoke, starting up and 
 looking round her with bewilderment. 
 
 The car had stopped at the hotel a vista of a long 
 hall with massive furniture, and tall palms, opened be- 
 fore her, and she stumbled into it sleepily and dropped 
 onto a chair whilst Raynor ordered dinner and rooms. 
 A trim chamber-maid came and took her upstairs, asked
 
 218 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 if there was anything she could do, and left her 
 ingly, saying that dinner would be ready in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Dinner! The word recalled the poor apology for the 
 meal she had had during the last week, and made her 
 hurry more than anything else. She was conscious of 
 having felt disappointed to see Raynor when she awoke, 
 instead of Roy, but the thought of dinner was, for the 
 moment, greater than anything else. She washed, 
 brushed her hair, and went down feeling a little awed 
 by the hugeness of the place, which was practically 
 empty, and a little fearful of the shabbiness of her 
 dress. 
 
 Raynor was waiting in the hall. He met her at the 
 foot of the stairs. 
 
 "You look rested now," he smiled. "Quite a differ- 
 ent Zoe. I shouldn't have thought you could sleep so 
 soundly." 
 
 "I'm sorry " she faltered. "But I was tired. It 
 was dreadfully rude of me, I know." 
 
 "Not at all. I enjoyed watching you you're almost 
 as pretty asleep as awake not quite, because one can- 
 not see those wonderful eyes." 
 
 She blushed hotly and glanced apprehensively at the 
 waiter. He appeared not to have heard, but the admi- 
 ration in his eyes showed plainly what he thought 
 and she found herself glancing at him again, to see if 
 the look were still there. 
 
 Although the dinner was a typically English one 
 stodgy and badly cooked she enjoyed it immensely, 
 and chatted brilliantly between the courses. Fearing 
 that Raynor might think her greedy, she gave an amus- 
 ing description of her meals in the pokey room at Scar- 
 borough, and of the tea at the Orchid Rooms which 
 had merely broken her fast without satisfying her ap- 
 petite. But that brought Lydia and her parting tears
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 219 
 
 so vividly to mind that she stopped abruptly and looked 
 at him inquiringly. 
 
 "What's up?" he asked. 
 
 "Nothing I I" 
 
 "Now, look here," he smiled, filling up her glass with 
 champagne, "you're not to brood or look like that. 
 Your bad times are over put them behind you for- 
 ever. ' ' 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because I say so I love you and you love me, don't 
 you?" 
 
 "I don't think I shall say," she murmured coquet- 
 tishly. "It isn't proper here." 
 
 He burst out laughing and beckoned the waiter. 
 
 "Coffee and liquors upstairs," he said. 
 
 Zoe looked surprised. She glanced at the clock. It 
 was ten already. Were they going on, or staying? No 
 they couldn't possibly go on, explained Raynor it 
 was too late. Bunting was tired. They had come far 
 enough that day. Time was their own. 
 
 All this whilst they were going upstairs to the sitting- 
 room adjoining the bedroom where she had taken off her 
 hat, and the lovely coat he had lent her. And she lis- 
 tened without minding very much. This was a real 
 adventure and what a change to last night ! Wouldn 't 
 Dardino be cross if she knew wouldn't others be 
 shocked! She only wished Rachel could see her and 
 Roy, who had run away after professing to love her. 
 
 She stepped on her skirt and tore it as they reached 
 the landing. He laughed at her disconsolate expres- 
 sion and kissed her ear. A little shiver ran through 
 her at the touch she thrilled as he said he would buy 
 her another gown to-morrow, and another as many as 
 she liked. 
 
 "How do you know I shall let you?" she asked, with 
 her sidelong glance.
 
 220 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 He squeezed her arm and drew her quickly into the 
 room. 
 
 ' ' How do I know ? Because, for one thing, you won 't 
 like to hurt me, will you? For another, you're a grate- 
 ful little girl. And then you love pretty things, which 
 is only natural. A lovely darling like you ought to 
 have nothing but beautiful things around her lovely 
 gowns and priceless jewels, plenty of money to spend 
 and someone to love and worship her as I do you 
 you, Zoe!" 
 
 Her eyes widened, her heart began to sing. He 
 wanted to marry her, to marry her, to marry her! To 
 give her beautiful things plenty of money to spend! 
 
 And then she saw Lydia's purse the gleam of gold! 
 
 And, then she heard Lydia's words: ''Don't you 
 take to the life you'll feel it more because you're of 
 'gentle birth.' " 
 
 But wasn't it because she was of "gentle birth" that 
 she so loathed her poverty, the unrefinement of her 
 present life? Could that other so veiled in mystery 
 be worse? Didn't people especially women al- 
 ready treat her like dirt? And she, too, wanted to 
 enjoy life, to have nice clothes and good food, and a 
 bed to lie down upon, without worrying about the 
 rent 
 
 She looked into his ardent face, her own full of ap- 
 peal. 
 
 "Why does my Zoe look like that?" he asked kindly. 
 
 "I don't know I I " She bowed her head and 
 began to cry. 
 
 "Don't, my darling," he whispered, taking her in 
 his arms, "for I love my little Zoe I love her!"
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 IT was late the next afternoon when Raynor's car 
 drew up outside the house in Berners Street and Zoe 
 got out. Peeping Johnnies might have seen that she 
 was unaccompanied, that she had a suppressed look of 
 excitement on her face red rims around her eyes. But 
 Mrs. Toogood was too surprised to notice much as she 
 opened the door, exclaiming: 
 
 "Well, I never, Miss Zoe! But I'm glad to see you, 
 Miss. And your rooms " 
 
 "I haven't come to stay, Mrs. Biddy. Only to see 
 if you have any letters for me. I'm expecting one and 
 told them to send it here I knew you wouldn't mind." 
 
 "My life, no!" exclaimed the old woman, her eyes 
 coming back from the scrutiny of the car and its gray- 
 clad chauffeur to look more carefully at Zoe. "It's 
 here awaiting for you. It came this morning, least- 
 ways one did now there 're two." 
 
 She had thrown open the front-room door and Zoe 
 walked in eagerly, her heart leaping at the news. Could 
 Roy have written at last? 
 
 Yes there was his handwriting on an envelope, for- 
 warded from this house. It had evidently been follow- 
 ing her for some time. 
 
 "You see," said Biddy, as Zoe turned it over with 
 trembling fingers, "I sent this off as soon's it came. 
 But it never caught you up. I might as well have kept 
 it here, mightn't I?" 
 
 But Zoe paid no heed. She had opened it and was 
 reading hurriedly through tear-dimmed eyes reading 
 as a drowning man might clutch a straw or a starving 
 
 221
 
 222 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 other eat an unexpected meal, making no pretense to 
 conceal his hunger. And as she read the look of de- 
 spair deepened in her face. For he loved her had only 
 left her, that last night in town, because he loved her 
 so was returning shortly, burning with love for her. 
 
 She forgot where she was, the waiting woman be- 
 side her, the letter she had not yet opened and sat 
 motionless, facing her moment of utter misery. 
 
 All have such moments in their lives, when the soul 
 flounders blindly through the eddying waters of despair 
 when it goes down in fear and agony to the very bed- 
 rock of bitterness, emerging weak, hardspent, broken. 
 To many such moments come but once in a lifetime, but 
 Zoe was to face them again and again, until at last 
 her numbed soul sank to rise no more. 
 
 It was Biddy's voice which called her back now. 
 
 "I knew you'd be glad," she was saying, "and I did 
 so hope it wouldn't get there too late." 
 
 Too late ! 
 
 Zoe gave a bitter little laugh as she replied : 
 
 "How could it be too late when I didn't expect it? 
 This is the one I wanted it's from my mother, though 
 why my landlady put it in another envelope instead 
 of readdressing it is more than I can say. She wasn't 
 as nice as you, Mrs. Biddy nothing like. You've 
 spoilt me terribly for the usual lodging-house keeper 
 they're so " 
 
 She stopped in amazement as the envelope revealed 
 an orange colored one and a badly written letter which 
 she started to read as she pulled out the telegram. 
 
 "Dear Miss," it ran, "this came a few minutes after 
 you left. I took the liberty to open it in case I could 
 do something. I'm sorry it's such bad news." 
 
 Zoe read no further, the slip of pink paper was in 
 her hand: 
 
 "Come at once. Mother sinking rapidly."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 223 
 
 Biddy Toogood, who had been watching with a fright- 
 ened look in her eyes, faded from her view and the room 
 swam round. 
 
 "What's the matter, Miss?" asked the woman anx- 
 iously. 
 
 "It's my mother she's dying she's dying " 
 gasped Zoe, making for the door. 
 
 Mrs. Toogood followed her with consoling words : 
 
 "Oh, p'r'aps not, Miss. Them telegraphs are things 
 I just detest. They never tell the truth, really -it 
 costs too much." 
 
 Zoe had reached the car and was making an impas- 
 sioned appeal to Bunting. Would he take her at once 
 to Dunsworth? It would be quicker than the train. 
 Her mother was dying she might even be too late, 
 for she ought to have gone yesterday. 
 
 He hesitated. Mr. Raynor was a good master, but 
 an exacting one. It was all his place was worth for 
 him to disobey like that. Mr. Raynor had given them 
 half an hour to come here and pick him up at his club 
 besides, they had all the luggage with them they 
 ought to go to him first. It would only take a few min- 
 utes to drive into Pall Mall and 
 
 "No no I won't!" exclaimed Zoe, stamping her 
 foot. "There's no time to be lost take me to Charing 
 Cross." 
 
 "But, Miss" 
 
 "We haven't been half an hour there's time for 
 that " retorted Zoe, stumbling into the car. She had 
 forgotten Mrs. Toogood, everything but the fear beat- 
 ing at her heart. And as she sank back upon the cush- 
 ions the flood-gates of her filial love burst open, and 
 she gave way to her grief, recalling poignantly her vain 
 promises, her seeming heartlessness. 
 
 At the same time she became conscious of a rising 
 anger against Raynor for coming int her life as he
 
 224 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 had. She forgot that she had been glad to see him 
 that his caresses pleased and flattered, his wealth daz- 
 zled. She only remembered that Keith had written at 
 last and that by her own folly she had forfeited all 
 right to his love. Long before she reached the house 
 her grief for her mother had become merged in her 
 longing for the lover she had lost. 
 
 She arrived to find Mrs. Dereham barely conscious. 
 She had thought so little of death, had seen so little 
 illness, that she was awed by the extremity of this 
 strange new being, so different to the shabby little 
 woman she had almost despised. She was afraid those 
 suffering eyes might read what she felt sure must be 
 written on her face what had made her shrink from 
 the Vicar's searching gaze as he met her on the door- 
 step. 
 
 The whole atmosphere of the house was repugnant to 
 her. The solemn faces of the nurse and landlady, the 
 paraphernalia of the sick-room, filled her with an in- 
 clination to fly from the place back to life and sun- 
 shine, warmth and noise. 
 
 But she beat the feeling down with genuine self- 
 loathing and demanded why she had not been sent for 
 before. The reply was full of unconscious reproach. 
 This last attack had been so sudden there had been 
 no delay in writing and she knew how ill the poor 
 lady was, hadn't she been ill for months? Ill and lonely 
 starving, for all she knew, burst out the landlady. 
 For she ate nothing, nothing lived on less than would 
 keep a bird, pretending she had fed outside. But where 
 could that be? since she had lost so many pupils. 
 Why? asked Zoe, and guessed by the woman's expres- 
 sive look and silence that there was something here she 
 ought to know. She tackled Mr. Wood and the doctor 
 and learnt sufficient from their guarded replies to 
 know that she was at the bottom of the whole mischief.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 225 
 
 It only needed that to flood her heart with remorse 
 and make her resolve to devote her whole time to her 
 mother to stay with her always if she were spared to 
 never do a single thing she disapproved of, whether 
 she lived or died. 
 
 She told her that in heart-broken words as she knelt 
 by the bedside, but how much was understood she never 
 knew, though the loving eyes dwelt lingeringly upon 
 her face, and the lips murmured with a happy sigh: 
 "Zoe, my darling safe at last " 
 
 She died a few minutes later, and, for the time, Zoe's 
 grief was inconsolable. She would gladly have given 
 years of her own life to have had the chance of show- 
 ing how deeply she regretted the past year how anx- 
 ious she was to atone. 
 
 Though most of us experience such longings, when 
 it is too late to none is the lost opportunity returned 
 
 When Zoe awoke from the heavy sleep she had fallen 
 into, she set to work to repair what errors she could, 
 and wrote to Raynor, telling him she could never see 
 him again. Firmly she believed she could turn her 
 back on the life she loved and try to lead one her mother 
 would have approved of more though when she thought 
 over the various occupations open to girls, she realized 
 how unequipped and incompetent she was for all. 
 
 Resentment grew apace in her heart against all those 
 who had once been their friends and whose defection 
 had so troubled her mother. She blamed the Woods 
 most and when Mrs. Woods, feeling no doubt very 
 brave and kind, called to offer her condolences and give 
 her motherly advice, she sat silent and morose, answer- 
 ing in monosyllables and refusing to be drawn. An- 
 noyed by her attitude, the good lady uncurbed her 
 tongue and talked openly of the dangers of the life she 
 had adopted of the terrible end awaiting flighty 
 pleasure-seeking girls, of the horrors of the London
 
 226 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 streets at night. She begged her, ere it was too late, 
 to pause and think. 
 
 "And if I do," asked Zoe, "will you give me a ref- 
 erence so that I can get some other work?" 
 
 "What sort of work?" 
 
 "Teaching, perhaps " faltered Zoe. 
 
 Mrs. Wood looked alarmed. No. She couldn't do 
 that, unless it were as pupil teacher or " 
 
 "A Sunday-school teacher, perhaps " asked the girl, 
 a wicked gleam in her tear-washed eyes. 
 
 "That," exclaimed the clergyman's wife, drawing her- 
 self up stiffly, "is a matter for the Vicar. In fact, it 
 might be better to ask him about the reference. A 
 clergyman's word carries more weight when there is 
 so little to be said." 
 
 Zoe saw her no more and was left to herself during 
 those sad days before the funeral. Terrible days they 
 were when the longing to be off, to drown herself in a 
 round of gayety, was almost as great as the resolution 
 to put frivolity behind her and lead a better life. 
 Though, she reflected, the very people who ought to en- 
 courage that desire were the most against it, the most 
 discouraging by reason of their own self-righteousness. 
 Lydia's words often rang in her ears. 
 
 On the second day the gray car caused a flutter 
 through the street, judging by the fluttering of the cur- 
 tains in the prim bay windows, and Raynor entered the 
 house of mourning. 
 
 He carried a magnificent wreath of flowers which he 
 laid upon the table, where Zoe had been sorting bills 
 and papers. 
 
 She had risen before he was ushered into the room, 
 and met his smile with stern displeasure. 
 
 "My poor little girl ' he began. 
 
 "Why have you come?" she interrupted, waving him 
 back.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 227 
 
 "Isn't it obvious enough?" 
 
 "I told you I never want to see you again." 
 
 "Yes but women change their minds." 
 
 "I don't. I meant it." 
 
 "I wanted to know your plan for the future," he 
 went on. 
 
 "After the after to-morrow I'm going to town to 
 look for work." 
 
 "And starve again?" 
 
 "I sha'n't do that! For I'll take anything that of- 
 fers this time a shop even, or 
 
 "It's the same thing. There isn't one inch of the 
 great industrial press which doesn't crush most of its 
 women workers to powder, for a mere pittance which 
 can't keep body and soul together. Sooner or later 
 they come to worse death or the gutter. Which do 
 you choose?" 
 
 "Neither!" she exclaimed, drawing herself up 
 proudly. "I'm not afraid. That isn't the truth about 
 everyone My mother hadn't money, and yet >" 
 
 She paused, choking over the words. Need her mother 
 have died yet? Wasn't starvation and worry the cause 
 of her trouble? She turned aside from the triumphant 
 look in his eyes as he murmured tenderly: 
 
 "Isn't she dead? Doesn't that show you something? 
 Oh, you foolish little child, to turn your back on hap- 
 piness and certainty just because " 
 
 "No, I'm not foolish," she exclaimed, summoning all 
 her forces to the rescue. "Death like that is better 
 than than the happiness you mean. What recon- 
 ciles me most to my mother's death is the knowl- 
 edge that she will never know what a wicked girl I've 
 been" 
 
 "Stuff and nonsense!" he exclaimed then stopped, 
 regarding her with wondering eyes. Something had 
 given the butterfly a soul it surprised him and upset
 
 228 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 his plans. He thought her a fool and was annoyed. 
 
 "Then," he resumed, "you really mean to stick to 
 what you wrote ?" 
 
 "I really do," said Zoe. 
 
 "And it's good-by, little Zoe?" 
 
 "Yes " she faltered. "But " with sudden courage, 
 "I owe you money I will send it." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders smilingly. 
 
 "There is no need " 
 
 "There is I can't owe that." 
 
 "What good is it to me? It has served a useful turn. 
 But if ever you come into any, and it salves your con- 
 science to do so, perhaps " 
 
 "It will it will!" she cried. "I want to start 
 fresh with nothing behind me. You don't understand, 
 perhaps, but, I want to make up a little to her 
 though I may not be able to pay it all at once; there's 
 very little here " 
 
 She spread her hands despairingly over the littered 
 papers. He glanced at them carelessly, as he turned to 
 the door. 
 
 "Any time will do. Are you sure you have enough 
 now? Well, remember in the future, too I shall be 
 only too pleased. As a matter of fact, my little Zoe, 
 I owe you far more than you owe me. But have it your 
 own way. Good-by." 
 
 And then he went the huge car purring noisily as 
 it started off, to creep snugly up the street, all the cur- 
 tains fluttering as he passed. 
 
 But behind hers, Zoe sat, with her face buried in her 
 hands. She had bid good-by to the wealth and pleas- 
 ure he could have poured out at her feet, and the 
 thought of the poverty before her seemed more than she 
 could bear. 
 
 Presently she looked up and saw the wreath he had 
 left. With a little cry of rage she flung it to the
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 229 
 
 ground, trampling upon it and murmuring brokenly: 
 "Not on her not on her!" 
 
 For, creature of impulse that she was, she was filled 
 with self-loathing and utter disgust for what had hap- 
 pened, more because it had happened whilst her mother 
 was lying there unconscious, her trust in her child still 
 unbroken, than because she resented his caresses. And 
 she honestly believed she meant to do all she said. 
 
 And so, obsessed with the thought of her unworthi- 
 ness and wrong-doing, she left Roy's letter unanswered, 
 and decided to seek other rooms than Biddy Toogood's 
 so that she could start the new life away from the old 
 haunts. 
 
 She found that her mother had been practically pen- 
 niless what little there was going to cover the costs 
 of her funeral and settle up her small bills. And after 
 she had turned from the raw look of the upturned earth 
 at the grave-side which left her an aching memory she 
 never forgot she left Dunsworth forever with noth- 
 ing but a few trinkets and a couple of pounds between 
 herself and want. 
 
 She paid little heed to Mr. Woods' kind words of 
 parting. Her heart was too sore against him and his 
 kind. The lack of sympathy from those who had been 
 her mother's pupils the cruel way in which she was 
 left to follow her alone to the grave filled her with 
 everlasting bitterness and made her show her worst 
 side to the few she had to see. Not to this well-meaning 
 but narrow-minded man would she say one word of her 
 intentions her desire to atone to the dead. 
 
 With sad eyes he said good-by, grieving deeply in his 
 heart that one so full of promise in her early years 
 should be so deaf to the voice of God so lost to the 
 ways of the righteous, that even he could not snatch 
 her from the burning which most surely awaited her. 
 
 And to this day the neighbors, still living down that
 
 230 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 street, tell of the gray car with its handsome occupant 
 of the beautiful wreath her landlady found trampled 
 and destroyed after he had left and the girl's anger 
 and distress Mrs. Dereham, for all her airs and graces, 
 must certainly have been no better than she should be 
 probably a great deal worse if her daughter, who was 
 following in the footsteps of her hidden youth, could 
 so resent the rich stranger's visit. 
 
 Zoe found a room in a mean street near Victoria. It 
 was so poorly furnished that, although she had brought 
 pictures and ornaments from Dunsworth, she could not 
 resist the temptation of spending a few shillings in or- 
 der to make it look more homelike. The whole house 
 was in a dilapidated state the whole street shabby and 
 sordid. It depressed her each time she went out and 
 often she delayed her coming back until it was too 
 dark to see her surroundings. Then, however, she was 
 surprised by the number of good-looking, well-dressed 
 women she would meet on their way townwards, and, 
 learning from various sources that they were "theatri- 
 cals," tried to approach one or two in the hope of hear- 
 ing of an opening for herself. For her determination 
 to avoid the stage was beginning to dwindle away worn 
 by her endless failure to secure any other kind of em- 
 ployment. She had discovered that this was a bad time 
 of year for most occupations firms dismissing employes 
 during the slack months in order to save a few pounds 
 for the good of the shareholders, and without any 
 thought whatever for those thus thrown out of work. 
 Then the heads of big concerns were invariably away 
 and her lack of references and experience balked her 
 everywhere. She had almost secured a post as waitress, 
 in one of the numerous tea-shops belonging to a huge 
 company, where she was to provide her own uniform 
 and receive the fabulous sum of eight shillings a week,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 231 
 
 minus one and sixpence for dinners when it was dis- 
 covered that she was not living at home nor with rela- 
 tives. For the sake of morality the firm insisted on 
 that little recking that the sweating wages were far 
 more likely to send a girl wrong, than if she lived in 
 rooms with an adequate salary. So they salved their 
 consciences in their dealings with the young women 
 trusted to their care so, in similar ways, did other pro- 
 viders of labor. It was a hopeless lookout for any 
 friendless girl, with no special training or profession. 
 And Zoe realized that the best thing would be to go 
 back to what she knew even to become a much despised 
 chorus girl. Unfortunately Hailey was in America or 
 she could have gone to him for advice. She had lost 
 faith in theatrical agencies. So she waited on her stair- 
 case one evening for one of the good-looking girls she 
 had noticed in the house and who had smiled at her 
 once or twice. 
 
 "Are you going to the theater now?" she asked, walk- 
 ing down with her. 
 
 The girl stared and smiled. 
 
 "Because," said Zoe, "I want to ask a favor. I'm 
 looking for a 'shop.' I thought you might know of one 
 and speak a word for me " 
 
 The girl colored, and retorted that the agents would 
 be of more use. 
 
 "They're not I've wasted heaps of money on all 
 kinds of agencies for all kinds of work. And then 
 they tell me they have nothing." 
 
 "Do you really think I'm on the stage?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "Well I've never been behind the scenes in my life. 
 I used to be in a shop. But now I know better than 
 to slave from morning to night for a mere nothing." 
 
 She nodded smilingly and went on. 
 
 Zoe went back to her room there to brood over what
 
 232 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 she had heard, a horrid fear of London possessing her 
 heart a longing for the best it had to offer filling her 
 soul. She could not believe that she was doomed to 
 such misery for life, that the luxury and gayety she 
 loved were wrong for her. She had been foolish to 
 imagine that her mother wished that hadn't she said 
 that teaching was too dull for her? She would write 
 to Roy. Why not? He loved her and would want to 
 marry perhaps. The silly feeling she had had about 
 having forfeited his love just because she had spent a 
 few hours with Raynor, was as unhealthy as these oth- 
 ers turning her back on the work she was best fitted 
 for the love and pleasure she was offered. She was 
 not meant to struggle on like this. No one could blame 
 her for asking more from life. 
 
 He came the next day his face aglow with love, to 
 reproach her tenderly for having kept him so long with- 
 out news, for having buried herself in such a hole. 
 And she clung to him with a fierce joy in her heart. 
 
 The letter, which she had sent to Jermyn Street, had 
 found him on the eve of departure for Scotland. An- 
 other day, and it would have been too late! 
 
 "You were going to the bloated grocer's daughter?" 
 she asked, her eyes adoringly on his face. "Yes yes 
 I see it in your face. But I don't mind now. I know 
 that you love me. I don't mind if you have to marry 
 her, for you love me best." 
 
 "Yes, I love you," he murmured. 
 
 "And you'll go to Scotland to-morrow?" 
 
 He held her from him and looked into her eyes. 
 
 "Witch that you are " he smiled. "I fled once 
 from your wiles must I fly again?" 
 
 "I don't know " she faltered, her eyes dropping 
 from his.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 233 
 
 "Supposing I say no, Zoe; that I refuse to leave you 
 here" 
 
 "Do do. I hate the place," she shuddered. "Look 
 out of the window, look into the street! It's horrible. 
 I hate it" 
 
 ' ' I know of the sweetest little country place where my 
 Zoe could forget these horrors. Where there are flow- 
 ers nearly as beautiful as herself, and shady trees 
 and" 
 
 She sprang back into his arms. 
 
 "Take me there now forever!" 
 
 "You mean it? Do you understand, Zoe, what you 
 say? You do! You want to go with me?" 
 
 "I want it. I wrote because I wanted it. I want 
 you to love me to make me forget all this now 
 now " she cried. "I don't care what happens, so 
 long as I have you. Take me, take me I am yours to 
 take."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 NOT once, during the fortnight that followed, did 
 Zoe pause to think. She was too happy, too in- 
 toxicated with passion her senses lulled by the gratifi- 
 cation of every wish to find room in her untutored 
 heart for vain regret. She loved Keith more than she 
 believed she could have loved anyone, and belonged to 
 him body and soul. Nothing seemed therefore to mat- 
 ter, beyond the present and she was convinced that she 
 would be content to live for him alone, in the lonely 
 little house where the "flowers grew nearly as beauti- 
 ful" as herself. 
 
 It stood in a sheltered lane where the banks were 
 fringed with tall grass and fragrant hedge flowers 
 where the birds piped in trees decked out in fresh, 
 green foliage, patches of blue sky showing between their 
 branches. 
 
 No other habitation was near at hand, though set be- 
 tween the gray splendors of the distant hills were the 
 mellow, irregular roofs of the Nuremberg of England 
 that quaintest of country towns with, its narrow, 
 cobbled streets and Sadlers' Row of pink-washed 
 cottages. 
 
 Then a letter came, forwarded from Jermyn Street, 
 to request Roy's presence in town. Sir Jasper was up 
 on business he required some explanation for the de- 
 ferred visit to Scotland. 
 
 Zoe begged to go, too her eyes sparkling at the 
 thought. London again even London in August why 
 not? She loved it at any time. She adored the shops. 
 How could she get things here? 
 
 234
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 235 
 
 But, although she pouted at his refusal, she had to 
 give in. Of course it would never do to risk being seen 
 by Sir Jasper. That would mean starvation for them 
 both. She shuddered as she recalled the meaning of 
 that word. Not even with him would she go through 
 that again. 
 
 But time hung heavy on her hands after she had 
 watched him drive off in the dogcart belonging to Jerry 
 Marsh, their landlord, Old Jerry, himself, hunched up 
 behind him. A feeling of unrest possessed her, the 
 radiance of her happiness was dimmed. Although she 
 knew that Roy could not return before night, she spent 
 the day between the old stone porch and the wicket gate, 
 longing for something to happen to break her solitude. 
 Quite suddenly she began to hate the company of her 
 own thoughts. Once or twice she wandered into the 
 kitchen where Mrs. Marsh, a rosy-cheeked, dark-eyed 
 woman and the apple of Jerry's eye, did the baking for 
 the day. But she soon fluttered away, as aimlessly as 
 the butterflies without, to end at the gate for another 
 peep at the empty road. 
 
 She must have done so for about the fiftieth time, 
 when her eyes fell on the figures of two men walking 
 briskly towards her. Judging by their attire, and the 
 knapsacks across their shoulders, they were on a walking 
 tour. One was quite young, short and well knit; the 
 other much older, tall and spare. 
 
 Her heart fluttered with excitement. She wondered 
 if they would notice her see how pretty she was. She 
 wished they would stop and ask the way. As they got 
 nearer she had a feeling that she had seen the older 
 of the two before. She puckered her brow and looked 
 hard at him. 
 
 He was for passing on with a careless glance. But, 
 suddenly, he paused said a word or two to his com- 
 panion, and made straight for her.
 
 236 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Surely I'm not mistaken in thinking I know you?" 
 he smiled. That smile had cheered her at a too bar- 
 ren moment of her life for her not to remember it. 
 
 "It's Mr. Hales!" she cried, holding out her hand. 
 
 "And it's Zoe! One of the bravest little girls I 
 know! Let me see, how long is it since we met?" 
 
 "Years and years ago," she exclaimed. "At least, 
 it seems like that, so many things have happened!" 
 
 ""We meet under happier circumstances, for one!" 
 
 "Yes, indeed!" 
 
 "Are you staying here?" 
 
 "For the present yes " she faltered. For what 
 would he say if he knew under what conditions she was 
 here, and with whom! 
 
 "Ah, I'm sorry I didn't know, for I've been in the 
 neighborhood a week." 
 
 "And we came ten days ago," she began, halting to 
 color hotly as she realized she had said "we." 
 
 He looked at her thoughtfully. His eyes slid from 
 her confused face to her left hand, the brand new band 
 of gold upon her third finger and then he smiled, ex- 
 claiming : 
 
 "I understand ! Of course you don't want any intrud- 
 ers. It's an ideal spot here for happy people, and 
 I hope you'll always be that, both of you. And now 
 I must hurry on. We take the train in half an hour 
 and return to work. I shall think of you in Arcadia 
 whilst I'm in the slums. Perhaps you'll come and see 
 me there." 
 
 He shook her hand as he spoke, bowed and rejoined 
 his friend. Long after they had passed out of sight, 
 long after their voices had died away into silence, she 
 stood there all laughter gone from her eyes, looking as 
 though she had been stunned. She had been so proud 
 of her love careless and indifferent to what the world 
 might think. But now she remembered that she had
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 237 
 
 eaten of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that 
 its fruit was bitter. 
 
 Mrs. Marsh recalled her to the trivialities of life, and 
 she went slowly in for the meal she could not eat. 
 
 A telegram came during the afternoon to say that 
 Roy would not return that night might stay away for 
 a day or two. She was furious. How could he leave 
 her so long in a place where there wasn 't a soul to speak 
 to and nothing to amuse her. 
 
 She cried herself to sleep that night with an alarming 
 vision of a future such as this. She had said she could 
 be happy anywhere with him anywhere. But the 
 thought of other lonely days in this dull place, other 
 still more lonely nights, filled her with sudden horror. 
 For the moment she was really thankful he had not 
 married her. 
 
 She was so heavy-eyed and pale when she came down 
 to breakfast that Mrs. Marsh looked concerned. 
 
 ' ' I 'm all right, ' ' smiled Zoe. " Only lonely ' ' 
 
 "I know. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? And the 
 worst is we've got to get used to it, M'm." 
 
 "I don't know about that," said Zoe, puckering her 
 brow. 
 
 "All married women have to," sighed Mrs. Marsh. 
 "Jerry worships the ground I walk on, but that don't 
 prevent his leaving me for hours and hours all by my 
 little lonesome. What for? T' enjoy himself at the 
 Spotted Dog,' a playing billiards, or telling yarns 
 without giving a thought to me the whole time. Men 
 aren't like us. Love is everything to them for a few 
 minutes only they don't understand it's breath to us 
 always, even when we're getting old. They think if 
 they put us in a comfortable home and give us plenty 
 of good food and clothes, we've no right to grumble or 
 question their love. P'r'aps they're right, p'r'aps their 
 love is still there for all they're too busy to show it.
 
 238 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 But you can't have a plant and never water it some 
 want a drop every day; and that's the kind love is. 
 If you forget it once or twice it droops; if you forget 
 it several days it dies. And a woman is the same, least- 
 ways her love is, but that's what men don't realize. 
 They think once they've got a woman it's for always. 
 But if you remember they're like that, you'll save your- 
 self a mint of trouble later on, I'm sure. Though as 
 to your being lonely now that's a different thing, for 
 no one can help being kept away by business, and 
 so" 
 
 "Anyhow, I'm not going to droop," laughed Zoe, 
 with sudden determination. "I'll water my love if no 
 one else will!" 
 
 "Oh, M'm!" chuckled the comely woman. "And 
 how might that be?" 
 
 "I'm going to enjoy myself. Not at the 'Spotted 
 Dog,' wherever that may be, but at the 'Swan.' In 
 other words, I'm going to walk through that glorious 
 common to the artists' inn for tea. So if the sweets 
 of love are not for me to-day, the sweets of the Swan's 
 scrumptious blackberry jam will run them pretty 
 close. ' ' 
 
 "It's a nice walk, I'll allow. But further than you 
 ought to go alone there's all sorts about that 
 common. Artists and loafers, one's bad as t'other, 
 and" 
 
 "I don't mind. In fact, it will be quite a change 
 to see someone fresh. To have an adventure perhaps! 
 But I'll take the dog with me if I may, he'll enjoy 
 the walk as much as I shall, and then nothing terrible 
 can happen." 
 
 In fact, she hoped something would happen. She re- 
 called a young artist they had seen on the common a 
 few days ago he had looked at her then with more ad- 
 miration in his face than Roy approved of. It would
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 239 
 
 be fun to see him again and tell Eoy of the meeting 
 watch his blue eyes flame up in sudden jealousy. 
 
 To that end, she changed her white linen for a smoke- 
 colored muslin, knowing how well it would look in con- 
 junction with purple heather and blue gray sky. She 
 had bought no black excepting the thing she had worn 
 at the funeral. Roy had begged her not to her se- 
 cret belief that it might bring ill-luck upon their love 
 had made her agree readily enough, and argue that of 
 course her mother would have been the last to wish her 
 to wear anything so depressing. Grays and lavenders 
 took its place with occasional white. Roy had been 
 lavish with his gifts. Her gowns were dreams, not an 
 item wanting to complete their perfection. 
 
 She started off after an early luncheon, Jerry's 
 shaggy sheep dog trotting by her side. She was so 
 pleased with her appearance and the Marshs' open ad- 
 miration that she looked as happy as if she had not 
 begun to think. And her delight in herself lasted all 
 the way. 
 
 It was a glorious afternoon. The sunlight, filtering 
 through the leafy boughs on the green shot lane, fell 
 caressingly upon her peeping under the brim of her 
 soft feathery hat, twinkling in unison with her gray- 
 clad feet. 
 
 About three-quarters of a mile further on, the lane 
 turned up into a broad, sandy road running between 
 high banks. Beyond the left bank the ground sloped 
 gently down into wooded land, with here and there a 
 field. But that on the right climbed higher covered 
 with heather and bracken. Tiny yellow paths wound 
 through the purple carpet, under clumped trees, round 
 huddles of bushes, until they reached a wild upland and 
 sight was lost of the sunken road. 
 
 It was here, where the purple merged into the blue 
 of the bright sky, that Zoe, who had climbed on to the
 
 240 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 bank and stood shading her eyes, espied a man with 
 an easel. He sat with his back to her, but something 
 in the clear outline of his figure seemed familiar. 
 
 The famous Swan lay at the foot of the road, long 
 after the banks had crept down to its level, and the 
 common spread out to the other side, for half a mile 
 or so. But she had heaps of time before her. It would 
 be fun to see if this were the artist Roy had scowled 
 at, and with old Blunders to protect her it mattered 
 little who it was. Besides, she felt curious to see what 
 could be more paintable there, on the edge of the 
 world, than here. 
 
 A few minutes later she was close upon him, but al- 
 most too surprised by the panorama unfolding before 
 her to wonder at his unconsciousness of her presence. 
 For the common ran down the steep hillside to a gleam- 
 ing band of water, beyond which smooth pastures 
 dotted with cattle, and threaded with silvery streams, 
 stretched leisurely towards a distant belt of hills. Here 
 and there a white bridge flung across the river; a road 
 strolling through rows of poplars; a village, with gray 
 stone houses touched up with mellow roofs and golden 
 haystacks, broke up the monotony of the Dutch-like 
 scene. 
 
 It was so different to what she expected, so peaceful 
 after the wild tangle of color she had come through, 
 that Zoe stood still at gaze. 
 
 "Beautiful, isn't it?" said a man's voice behind her. 
 She turned quickly. Yes it was her artist. What a 
 nice face he had. 
 
 "It's so unexpected," she replied. "But I prefer a 
 different scenery all the same. Something more fin- 
 ished, more filled in." 
 
 "For that type of scenery, it is unique," he smiled 
 back. "And especially as, by veering round, you can 
 get something quite different here. Below the common,
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 241 
 
 trees and dells, well-hedged sloping fields, and shady 
 lanes. Those appeal more to you, perhaps?" 
 
 "I believe they do. I suppose it's shocking taste on 
 my part, but " 
 
 "Not at all. CJiacun a son gout. Which is a good 
 thing for poor devils of artists like myself." 
 
 "I daresay you think I'm a fool to talk like that, all 
 the same." 
 
 "No. I don't think you a fool," he replied slowly, 
 turning back to his easel. 
 
 "Ah! You think something of the kind or you 
 wouldn 't say it like that ! ' ' she laughed, following. 
 
 "Shall I tell you what I think?" he demanded, 
 facing her squarely as he stopped in front of his 
 work. 
 
 "Yes, do!" 
 
 "I was feeling quite satisfied with my work with 
 the scenery. It seemed to me beautiful enough. But 
 when I looked up and saw you standing there like a 
 spirit of the heather clad in gray mist I realized that 
 I had been mistaken and too easily satisfied. "With you 
 there, it is beautiful but without you, incomplete I 
 see now what my painting lacks, and and " 
 
 He paused. After all he was talking rather freely 
 to a total stranger and she ought to resent it. But Zoe 
 was delighted. She saw no harm in his words why 
 should she? 
 
 "And?" she asked. 
 
 "I wonder if you would let me put you in. It is 
 just what I want see?" 
 
 She looked at the canvas. Unfinished, as it was, 
 there was no denying the beauty of his work. The same 
 sense of the unexpected which had seized her on reach- 
 ing what she called the edge of the world, seized her 
 now. For, although he had turned his back on the com- 
 mon, it filled the foreground of his picture.
 
 242 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "But it is beautiful as it is!" she exclaimed. "You 
 don't want a figure there!" 
 
 "Indeed I do. Do you know a picture called 'Di- 
 ana of the Uplands' well, that is the kind of thing I 
 want. Just here, heather at your feet, the sky behind 
 you and, far away the valley I should call it 'From 
 the Land of Beyond,' or some such name. It would 
 be splendid!" 
 
 His eyes, shining with enthusiasm, were no brighter 
 than hers. She watched his hand as he took up a 
 brush. 
 
 "Do you want to start it now?" she asked. 
 
 "May I? Do you mean it? I shall want several sit- 
 tings perhaps, and 
 
 "I can't promise you those, but we'll see. I might 
 manage it if if " 
 
 "Anyhow, a bird in the hand is worth two in the 
 bush, isn't it? So I'm going to seize my opportunity 
 now I can't afford to lose it." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Haven't you heard: 'there are four things that come 
 not back : the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life 
 and the neglected opportunity.' That's why. So do 
 you mind standing there yes that's it. But I warn 
 you it 's a tiring game, so speak when you 've had enough. 
 Artists are selfish brutes when they get hold of models 
 like yourself they " 
 
 "What sort of models?" asked Zoe, glowing beneath 
 the admiration in his eyes. 
 
 "Rare and beautiful ones of course. So you know 
 what to expect." 
 
 "I don't mind. I shall enjoy watching. I've never 
 been painted before. Are you doing old Blunders, too? 
 Don't you think, 'At the Edge of the World,' a good 
 title?" 
 
 She spoke hurriedly, without waiting for a reply as
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 243 
 
 he stood regarding her. For she was not quite sure 
 that she ought to have consented. Wouldn't Roy be 
 vexed? Ah, well, it would only be this once, and Roy 
 couldn't expect her to go about like a mute just be- 
 cause he chose to stay in London and amuse himself. 
 Perhaps for all she knew he was with the grocer's 
 daughter now ! 
 
 So she gave herself up to the enjoyment of the mo- 
 ment without further scruple. She was beginning to 
 find it quite easy to silence that little protesting voice 
 within, so reminiscent of her mother and her prim warn- 
 ings. And as for her mother she refused to think of 
 her. It only made her wretched and furious with the 
 Dunsworth people, for she was too helpless to do any- 
 thing to express her anger and disgust. 
 
 And this man was delightful so different to anyone 
 else she knew more like a schoolboy and yet how old 
 really? Twenty-eight, thirty perhaps older than Roy. 
 And it never mattered letting artists admire you, for 
 they made a business of admiration, and this one was 
 much too keen on his picture to think of making love. 
 Yet she wondered, if if 
 
 Yes, she was feeling tired. The sun was so hot and 
 the heather so dazzling. She had been envying old 
 Blunders who looked so comfortable, rolled up like a ball 
 of shaggy wool. Might she sit down a minute, she felt 
 giddy. 
 
 He sprang to her side, full of contrition. Poor lit- 
 tle girl, what a beast he was! Why hadn't she spoken 
 before? No, he wasn't going on. She had said she 
 was going to the Swan for tea they would go now 
 in his side car. Where was it? Down behind a hud- 
 dle of bushes a little way down the road. Yes, that was 
 risky, but one had to take risks in everything. It 
 made life more lively. Hadn't she taken any? Not 
 one?
 
 244 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Almost before she had finished explaining that she 
 wanted to be painted more than anything else in the 
 world, they were flying down the road, with poor old 
 Blunders padding hard behind. There was a master- 
 fulness about him she could no more resist than she had 
 resisted the inclination to come out, in search of adven- 
 ture, and the fear of Roy's possible annoyance van- 
 ished like smoke beneath the charm of his manner, the 
 flattery of his words. And just because she was enjoy- 
 ing it all so much, and meant it to last as long as pos- 
 sible, she seized the opportunity of slipping the wedding 
 ring off her finger and into her bag, when she took off 
 her gloves. For if he thought her a staid married 
 woman it would spoil all the fun. 
 
 "Need you go back now?" he asked after tea. 
 
 "Well, I can stay a little longer perhaps Blunders 
 looks done up after his awful run. I wonder how he 
 felt when he saw us go out of sight and never found 
 us again until he got here " 
 
 "That his sun had set. I should have, in his place." 
 
 "Don't be silly. Tell me who did these pictures and 
 show me yours." 
 
 She looked round the quaint oak-paneled, low- 
 ceilinged room. Most of the paneling was covered by 
 the paintings of various artists who had stayed in the 
 place. The landlady was very proud of that room, and 
 well she might be. Some of the greatest painters of 
 the day had left some offering there. 
 
 "Mine has yet to come," he said. 
 
 "What will you do?" 
 
 "I haven't thought, unless unless how would you 
 like me to put you in here?" 
 
 "Surely you can think of something better," she 
 smiled. 
 
 "Better! Did you say better?" 
 
 "Yes don't pretend to be deaf, I said better."
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 245 
 
 "I'm not deaf," he exclaimed, looking close into her 
 face. "Nothing half so stupid as you think, you lit- 
 tle devil!" 
 
 And with a laugh he caught her in his arms and 
 kissed her. Of course she ought to have been as angry 
 as if the room had not been empty but, somehow or 
 other, she couldn't even feel annoyed. She had been 
 longing all day for love and kisses. 
 
 "You're a very naughty boy," she scolded, giving 
 him a playful push. "And I'm going home at once. 
 Come, Blunders." 
 
 "Oh, I say no are you angry? Have I really an- 
 noyed you? I promise I'll behave properly. Really I 
 will. I couldn't help losing my head, for you're such 
 a bewitching little monkey." 
 
 "Promise you won't be so silly again," said Zoe, 
 glancing at him through lowered lashes. 
 
 "I can't promise but I'll try to resist temptation. 
 You'd tempt St. Anthony himself, with those eyes, 
 those lips, those " 
 
 A party of tourists entered the room. They glanced 
 at them with that tantalizing look the prosaic gener- 
 ally put on when they think themselves in the presence 
 of lovers, and Zoe slipped out into the passage, her 
 heart beating loudly, hoping yet fearing that he would 
 follow her to renew the subject. 
 
 But he had evidently taken her at her word or feared 
 he might lose all chance of further sittings, for his 
 manner was as reserved and proper as if Blunders had 
 suddenly turned into a chaperone. It annoyed her, and 
 more out of curiosity as to whether the mood would 
 last, than anything else, she consented to stay a little 
 longer. But although they strolled along by the river, 
 where the people fishing sat as thick as flies upon the 
 
 Sinks, although they paused on the old stone bridge 
 watch the water mill at work, and stood at a farm-
 
 246 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 yard gate watching the poultry being fed, whilst she 
 laughed and chatted merrily, he did not thaw again. 
 It seemed impossible to believe that he had kissed her 
 with such passion only a brief while ago. 
 
 She was surprised at the lateness of the hour when 
 they started back. The sun had long since set and 
 twilight enveloped the common and scattered the lane 
 with dark shadows which filled her with vague unrest. 
 Supposing they met Boy supposing he had changed 
 his mind and come back to-day! She almost wished 
 she had not stayed so long for of course the Marsh 
 might be anxious, might tell him of it some time or 
 other. She knew his anger could be as fierce and un- 
 controlled as his love. 
 
 She turned out of her seat a few yards above the 
 Cottage, and with a half promise to do her best to 
 meet him on the morrow said a hurried good-by and 
 ran towards the garden gate. A stream of light 
 stretched to it from the open door, a figure darkened 
 the porchway and Mrs. Marsh came hurrying out. 
 
 "Oh, M'm, so there you are! I was getting anxious, 
 though I knew old Blunders wouldn't let you come to 
 any harm. Well, old man. My! How you've been 
 running! I suppose you thought I'd wonder what had 
 happened to you, and so I did, especially when " 
 
 "What could happen?" laughed Zoe, her heart as 
 light as a feather again. "It's a long way to the Swan, 
 and I knew there was nothing to hurry back for. And 
 I went down to the river and dawdled about, you know 
 how one goes on and on quite forgetting one has to 
 turn back some time or other." 
 
 She pushed open the sitting-room door as she spoke, 
 and stopped on the threshold with a little cry. For 
 just in front of her, his back to the grate, the table 
 between them, stood Roy, his face full of a severity s 
 had never seen there before. Something was wron
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 247 
 
 she knew. He did not move to greet her. His blue 
 eyes just looked her through and through. 
 
 "So you're back, after all!" she said, shutting the 
 door and pulling herself together with the comforting 
 thought that he had meant to surprise her. "How 
 sweet of you. I've been pining for you all day, and " 
 
 She made a little rush at him, but he put out a hand 
 to ward her off. 
 
 "Where have you been?" he asked. 
 
 "Where? For a long walk didn't Mrs. Marsh tell 
 you?" 
 
 "With whom?" 
 
 She laughed nervously^ his voice his eyes his man- 
 ner were those of a judge. He looked a different man 
 taller, older, most terrifying. 
 
 "What a stupid question when you know there's 
 no one." 
 
 "Who was it?" he insisted, his face growing blacker. 
 
 She decided to brave it out. 
 
 "Nobody!" she cried. 
 
 "That's a damned lie" 
 
 "Oh, how dare you how dare you when I say " 
 
 "Because I know the truth," he interrupted angrily. 
 "I saw you on the bridge, below the Swan " 
 
 A sickening feeling of fear shook her from head 
 to foot. Had he seen her really, or was he merely 
 guessing? His way from the station was in a quite 
 different direction. He was angry because she had kept 
 him waiting he knew nothing, really. 
 
 "What a tease you are!" she began. "And all be- 
 cause I'm late. But you said you'd be away some 
 time, and I felt dull indoors and sick of the garden, 
 and- 
 
 "Stop that. I've had enough. You went out to 
 meet this man I passed you in a friend's car I saw 
 you as plainly as I see you now. And that isn't all.
 
 248 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Yesterday I met Mr. Raynor, that kind friend you in- 
 troduced me to in Berners Street. And he told me all 
 about Doncaster everything! So I've done with you, 
 d'you hear you can go back to him. I daresay he'll 
 be glad enough to take you." . 
 
 She moved closer to him. 
 
 "Oh, no no listen, you must you must I was so 
 wretched, so lonely, I didn't understand truly I 
 didn't. No one had ever told me anything. And I 
 didn't think I didn't care either, for you had gone 
 out of my life " 
 
 "It's a pity I ever came into it again. I thought you 
 a decent-minded girl, willing to trust yourself only to 
 me, and and " 
 
 "And so I am!" she moaned, raising a tear-stained 
 face to his. 
 
 "And I find you're only a common harlot, after all!" 
 
 She shuddered back as though he had struck her. 
 For she knew the meaning of that word now, and was 
 to hear herself called by it again and again, with many 
 a worse, but never with the same feeling of horror and 
 anguish. 
 
 "And if I am," she choked, drawing herself up with 
 something of her old fighting spirit, and barring his 
 way to the door, "haven't you helped to make me so? 
 Am I to blame more than you? who are a man, and 
 know " 
 
 "I do not blame myself at all. You came to me after 
 Doncaster, you deceived me willingly." 
 
 He put her gently aside as he spoke and opened the 
 door. And with that the hopelessness of her situation 
 overwhelmed her. He had done with her forever. 
 
 The room rocked and rocked as she struggled to reach 
 him, longing to throw herself at his feet to crave for- 
 giveness there. 
 
 He had loved her ! He had held her to his heart and
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 249 
 
 told her so. If he would listen, and understand, surely 
 she could win him back. 
 
 She could hardly move her feet the room rocked 
 like a boat in a storm a rudderless little boat, like her- 
 self. And then suddenly the waters engulfed her. 
 She sank down and down, unable to resist, willing 
 enough to forget.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 WHEN Zoe regained consciousness she was lying on 
 her bed, and Mrs. Marsh was bending over her. 
 A lighted candle behind the woman cast her shadow 
 on the ceiling, and Zoe's eyes clung to it. She reflected 
 that a similar blackness had thus blotted out the bright- 
 ness of her life. 
 
 "Are you better?" asked Mrs. Marsh. 
 
 As she spoke the distant teuf-teuf of a motor-car came 
 through the open window, and Zoe's face filled with 
 fear. 
 
 "Where's Mr. Keith?" she asked. 
 
 "Gone." There was none of the old friendliness in 
 the woman's voice, even her face looked hard. "He's 
 been fetched in a motor-car." 
 
 Zoe shut her eyes. The tears began to trickle down 
 her cheeks. She felt utterly wretched and wondered 
 what Mrs. Marsh had been told. She supposed she ought 
 to get up and pack, ready to start in the early morn- 
 ing, but added to her disinclination to move was her 
 inability. She felt numb all over as though she had 
 been crushed. 
 
 "I may as well tell you I know everything," said 
 Mrs. Marsh. "And if you hadn't fainted and it wasn't 
 so late, I'd tell you to go, too. As it is you'll have to 
 clear out first thing in the morning " 
 
 Zoe sat up with sudden effort. Her eyes flashed. 
 
 "Did Mr. Keith tell you that that " she stum- 
 bled over the words. 
 
 "There was no need for telling. The house is small 
 and, Jerry not being in to make a row, I could hear 
 
 250
 
 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 251 
 
 all that was said. I couldn't help myself. And I'd a 
 right to know, considering how you'd both taken me in 
 with your lies about marriage and honeymoons and 
 wearing a wedding ring what you've no right to, though 
 I see you haven't got it now. If Jerry heard what Mr. 
 Keith called you he'd turn you out this very minute 
 faint or no faint." 
 
 Zoe slipped to the floor and stood up, swaying a 
 little. 
 
 "I'll go now " she said. 
 
 "And where to, pray?" 
 
 "I can walk to the town it's only two miles, you 
 said. My boxes can follow me to-morrow. Yes, I'll 
 do that. I don't want to stay where I'm not wanted. 
 I'll pack now and then I'll go." 
 
 Mrs. Marsh watched her narrowly as she stumbled 
 across the room. There was no denying the girl was 
 bad that it would be inhuman to let her go. On the 
 other hand, she could not forget how her neighbors 
 would regard the matter blame her, a respectable 
 woman, for sheltering a "bad lot." She considered 
 that she had been shamefully taken in and, woman- 
 like, blamed the girl more than the man. But there 
 was more tenderness than hardness really in her heart, 
 and she had taken to Zoe from the first. 
 
 So she put her arm round the girl and led her back 
 to the bed. 
 
 "You're going no farther than this, to-night," she 
 said gruffly. "You aren't fit to walk a yard, let alone 
 a couple of miles, and Jerry '11 be too tired to take 
 you. So you'd better get undressed 
 
 "But I want to go," said Zoe, resisting feebly. 
 
 "You aren't fit" 
 
 "What does that matter? Do you think I care what 
 happens to me now?" 
 ' "Don't talk nonsense. Of course you'll care some
 
 252 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 time or other, if not now. It's no good crying over 
 spilt milk. You're young enough to turn over a new 
 leaf and be a better girl. P'r'aps you've had more 
 temptations than most pVaps you've been more sinned 
 against than sinning anyhow, whatever you are, I'm 
 not going to have it laid at my door that you were turned 
 out when you wasn't fit so let's get you to bed " 
 
 "But Mr. Marsh" 
 
 "He knows nothing yet there's no reason why he 
 should, for he'd be sure to think I didn't ought to have 
 anything to do with you, or let you stay." 
 
 Zoe felt too weak to resent anything, although an 
 angry retort rose to her lips. She had already learnt 
 that offended pride could not be indulged in, by any 
 one as utterly at the mercy of others as she now was. 
 Besides, she wanted to go to bed she longed ardently 
 for oblivion to sweep over and cover her. 
 
 She never knew exactly how she got there nor how 
 long she laid there, letting time flow over her, all her 
 troubles forgotten, the problem she had to face un- 
 solved. But there were moments of lucidity when she 
 was woefully aware of the emptiness of her world, when 
 she clung to Mrs. Marsh, as to her only refuge from 
 the crowd of mocking demons clustering round her bed ; 
 when her short, but varied, past rose vividly before her 
 eyes. 
 
 Then came a time when she became acutely alive to 
 all that had happened, and realized that she had no busi- 
 ness here. She recalled the word Roy had flung at her, 
 with a shudder, and scrambled out of bed. She must 
 go Mrs. Marsh had merely kept her out of charity. 
 
 She dressed slowly, stopping many times to rest, her 
 eyes wandering round the pretty room with its rose- 
 framed window, through which the sunbeams came tum- 
 bling in with a bright indifforonoe to her aching pain. 
 She stared out at the daz/ding sky, the peaceful land-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 253 
 
 scape, and wondered if everyone in the world was as 
 callous to her suffering as this joyous day. Incidentally 
 her mind flew to Roy how he had spumed her, thrust 
 her aside! 
 
 She was half dressed when Mrs. Marsh came in. 
 
 "What's this?" she asked. "Who told you to get 
 up?" 
 
 "I must I have to go back to-day." 
 
 "Back? Where?" 
 
 A vista of mean streets and lowly, grimy lodgings, of 
 unappetizing meals and greedy lust-filled faces, rose 
 before Zoe's eyes. 
 
 "To London, of course." 
 
 "Well, there's no hurry, is there? These rooms have 
 been paid for until the end of the week, and well paid. 
 You're not fit to travel, either leastways, judging by 
 your face." 
 
 Her voice was rough, but so kind, despite her evi- 
 dent effort to be stern, that the tears sprang to Zoe's 
 eyes. She sank down upon a chair and looked up with 
 a little helpless smile into the woman's comely face. 
 
 "You've had a shock, that's what it is, and you've 
 got to get over it before you go. Oh, I know what 
 you're trying to say, but we all make mistakes, and I 
 don't mind owning I did, jumping at you like that. 
 Nobody, who heard you in the night, would think other 
 but that you've been misled. A-clinging to me to save 
 you, a-calling to your mother Why, Jerry, of 
 course I had to tell him he said we'd no right to judge 
 you, that we must help you instead, being as you're 
 most likely a victim of that White Slave traffic the 
 papers have been full of Mr. Keith was very nice and 
 such a gentleman, too, but the worst people often are 
 the nicest and the only bright bit in the whole affair 
 is that he's left you instead of taking you right away 
 where your friends and your mother could never find
 
 254 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 you again. So just you tell me the whole story and 
 we'll do what we can. Never mind what I said. 
 "We've got to be careful in the country, 'cause folks are 
 as ignorant as pigs and have tongues as long and as 
 wicked as snakes. But if they hear anything about 
 here, they'll hear you're a White Slave and that'll 
 make all the difference about my having let you stay. 
 He kidnapped you, didn't he, and called you names 
 because he was tired of you, or you wouldn't do what 
 he wanted you to? Or p'r'aps somebody else trapped 
 you first and passed you on to him, or " 
 
 "Don't!" cried Zoe, her eyes filling with horror. 
 
 "Well, if you don't tell us, how 're we to help you?" 
 demanded the woman, doggedly. "I daresay you hate 
 telling feel ashamed and all that, that's why lots of 
 girls won't face their friends again. But it's silly of 
 them for that's just what these White Slave people 
 want" 
 
 "I don't know what you mean," said Zoe. "I'm not 
 a White Slave." 
 
 Poor child! She little knew that she was one, just 
 as much as if she had been carried away, bound and 
 gagged, and shipped to the far East for whatever price 
 men cared to put on her. That she was one, because 
 the life she had begun to lead held her as in a vice 
 that the poison of excitement, of unrest, of garish 
 pleasure so filled her blood that already it had begun 
 its dire work of annihilation. That she was one, be- 
 cause she had willingly bowed her neck to the yoke 
 had crossed the Rubicon. 
 
 "Then what are you?" asked Mrs. Marsh, her face 
 hardening. 
 
 "I I don't know." 
 
 "Mr. Keith seemed to right enough. And you 
 needn't look like that. If you're as innocent as you 
 try to make me think, with your crying and your sigh-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 255 
 
 ing, you'd up and say. It's only when folk want to 
 hide something nasty that they pretend there's noth- 
 ing to be said, and look as though butter won't melt in 
 their mouths And, as you're nearly dressed, you can 
 finish dressing, and start your packing. It'll take you 
 a month of Sundays, judging by the finery about and 
 I want to get the rooms ready for someone else. None 
 of your young honeymooning couples again, for me 
 I'm going in for prim old maids in the future, and the 
 uglier the better, beauty's only skin deep, after all." 
 
 She flounced out of the room, leaving Zoe looking 
 after her with bewildered eyes. For the change, from 
 kindliness to brutality almost, seemed hardly explained 
 by her very natural objection to talk about the past. 
 How could these simple people help her? Moreover, 
 she was ashamed and longed oh, how she longed! 
 for some loophole of escape from the loathsome search 
 for work, all the dread experiences that await a friend- 
 less girl. Yet she knew .that if the chance were, given 
 her to stay here, she would refuse it and return to town. 
 Something might turn up something must. 
 
 As she packed the dainty clothing, the pretty trin- 
 kets, the many other presents Roy had lavished upon 
 her, she reflected that she would, at all events, be able 
 to dispose of these as necessity arose. A vague feeling 
 of pride made her stop during the progress of her task. 
 How could she take them after all he had said? How 
 keep her well-filled purse? 
 
 But the scruple a weakling from the first was 
 crushed out of being by the assurance that they were 
 hers, and could be of no use to him. That if she 
 left them he would never know, and only Mrs. Marsh 
 would- benefit by her folly. 
 
 Although her head ached terribly she worked on, feel- 
 ing that she could not bear Mrs. Marsh's scathing con- 
 tempt any longer, wondering vaguely if Jerry would
 
 256 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 drive her to the station. If not, she must walk and 
 let her luggage follow. 
 
 Once the idea of going to the Swan shot through 
 her mind. She might afford it for a week, and there 
 at any rate she had a friend. But she put it from 
 her at once. Wasn't it partly his fault she had lost 
 Roy? There must be no such writing, as that of a 
 promiscuous acquaintanceship, on the new leaf she 
 meant to turn over. Such readiness to make friends 
 had brought her to this pass. 
 
 She leaned her head against the trunk-lid, and wept 
 bitterly as the memory of her mother's voice rang in 
 her ears. Oh, if only she could go to her! 
 
 She had not heard the sound of wheels, and yet, as 
 she rose to her feet, she saw a station fly standing at 
 the gate. She supposed Mrs. Marsh had ordered it for 
 her well, it would have to wait. She made up her 
 mind what to say as she heard the woman's step out- 
 side the door and was surprised to hear her saying quite 
 quietly : 
 
 "There's a gentleman to see you, please." And then 
 as she read Zoe's inquiring eyes, she added shortly, 
 "It's a clergyman," and went. 
 
 A clergyman! Could it be Mr. "Wood who had fer- 
 reted her out, and had come to rebuke her to remind 
 her of his warning to offer her some help? She re- 
 membered that she had liked him once, that he had 
 been very kind during her childhood, and because she 
 was feeling very crushed, and penitent, and humble, she 
 resolved to see him and learn what his message was. 
 
 A thousand different feelings possessed her as she 
 went downstairs. And from each she gained a grain 
 of pride, a renewal of her anger against the world, the 
 determination to fight whatever odds there were. 
 
 She pushed open the door with a sickening memory 
 of the last time she had done so. Then, she had come
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 257 
 
 face to face with Roy, looking like a god of wrath; 
 now 
 
 It was not Mr. Wood after all, but Humphrey Hales ! 
 Her surprise was so great that she swayed a little 
 towards him, and held out her hands imploringly. 
 
 She did not know how weak and childlike she looked, 
 how her terrified eyes struck to his heart. She thought 
 he came believing in her happiness the happiness of 
 a newly-wed bride and searched her mind hurriedly 
 for something to say. 
 
 He took her hands in his warm clasp, and led her to 
 a chair, saying: 
 
 "Poor little Zoe, my poor little child." 
 
 She pulled herself together and looked searchingly 
 into his grave face. 
 
 "Why do you say that?" she asked. 
 
 "Because I know what you have suffered what you 
 are suffering now." 
 
 "You know? What do you know? I told you I was 
 happy. And so I was as happy as the birds in those 
 trees outside " 
 
 "And I believed you, child. But now " 
 
 "Now you know I'm wicked, I suppose" she burst 
 out "I suppose Roy told you How else can you know? 
 Perhaps he sent you to convert me and preach at me. 
 Sent you from your slums, which are full of wicked 
 women like me. Do you know what I am? Do you?" 
 
 "Why, yes my friend, Zoe." 
 
 "Not at all. No one who knows will be friends with 
 me. I have no friends. I'm a a common harlot, he 
 said. A little time ago I didn't know what that meant 
 I didn't know anything a girl should know, who has 
 to knock about as I have had to but now now I'm 
 just that he said so and yet I love him have always 
 loved him." 
 
 She began to cry helplessly, her head upon the cush-
 
 258 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 ions. But as he remained silent she suddenly looked 
 up, and asked why he didn't speak scold and abuse 
 her. 
 
 "Because I don't want to," he smiled, sitting down 
 beside her. "I've come to help, not to make you mis- 
 erable. It's true I know all and am terribly sorry 
 for for you both. But you're wrong in supposing I 
 was sent. That was my own idea I came knowing you 
 were lonely, yet fearing to find you already gone. 
 Luckily I am in time. Have you any plans?" 
 
 "None. There's no one in the world to care for me, 
 so it doesn't matter where I go or what I do. Only 
 I have to work." 
 
 "And your mother?" 
 
 She never quite knew how it was, but she found her- 
 self telling him everything that had happened since 
 she left Sainte Croix. Her confidence in him seemed 
 just as great as it had been there, nearly a year ago. 
 
 It was a sorry story she had to tell, one that filled 
 him with indignation and regret since all her folly and 
 mistakes could have been so easily avoided. He won- 
 dered how many other young girls, placed in like cir- 
 cumstances, were as little equipped for the fight, and, 
 realizing the frivolity of her nature its depths of un- 
 tutored vanity and love of adulation, shuddered at the 
 thought that he might ye be too late to lead her from 
 the path her feet had trodden so heedlessly. None knew 
 better than he how few ever turn back again. 
 
 She was in a sufficiently chastened mood to agree 
 that what he proposed must surely be better for her 
 than anything else to believe quite sincerely that she 
 had had enough of the stage or anything appertaining 
 to it. She wanted to be good more than anything, to 
 get back to the Zoe of a year ago, who had done none 
 of the dreadful things she had done and who was still 
 fit for the companionship of her own social kind.
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 259 
 
 He did not make the mistake many other men, 
 equally earnest and anxious for her welfare, might 
 have made. Take her to his grimy vicarage in the 
 slums, and bring her face to face with the misery and 
 poverty around. He had enough experience to know 
 that the contrast of his austere life with that she had 
 lead would be too great a shock to do any permanent 
 good. That it was only by gradual, and careful, teach- 
 ing the change he wanted could be wrought in her. But 
 he made one almost as great. For he suggested her go- 
 ing to his old friend, Mrs. Clayden. 
 
 Mrs. Clayden lived in Edgware. She was fond of 
 young people. Her only daughter had died at Zoe's 
 age. She was pleased to take the girl and give her 
 a home until she had found something to do. Was he 
 sure? Yes, he had seen her before coming. She need 
 tell her nothing, unless she wished to. Perhaps it would 
 be wiser to say nothing. The old lady had lived a very 
 quiet life; without being exactly narrow, she was very 
 conventional. 
 
 Zoe looked shocked. Surely it was wrong to de- 
 ceive her? Well, she could tell. He had said very lit- 
 tle. It was for her to decide. But the less she spoke 
 about the past, or thought of it, the better. There was 
 nothing to gain by shocking an old lady's feelings when 
 there was no reason for doing so. She offered shelter 
 to a homeless girl who had had trouble she offered it 
 for his sake. She knew he would not ask it for an 
 unworthy person She trusted him and he trusted Zoe. 
 
 He trusted her! He could have said nothing better 
 to arouse her feelings of self-respect, her determination 
 to prove herself worthy of his confidence, since know- 
 ing all he still believed that her power of becoming a 
 good woman was as great as that of becoming a wicked 
 one. That she had not yet made "of her beauty, a 
 curse."
 
 260 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 The tears started to her eyes as she looked back into 
 his kind face. 
 
 "Very well, I'll go " she said. "And your trust 
 in me shall not be misplaced! I'll forget the past I'll 
 try to be as good as woman as my darling mother was." 
 
 And she meant it as much as you or I can mean 
 anything.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 AND she meant it. Oh, yes, she meant it! 
 But before a week had passed, in the quiet house 
 at Edgware, she felt bored. Before a fortnight had 
 gone, she wondered how much more of it she could 
 stand. And when three weeks had stumbled by, each 
 day growing longer, more dreary and unlivable, she de- 
 cided that she had had enough. 
 
 The house was a small, shabby, old building covered 
 with creepers and surrounded by high brick walls. 
 From the road it looked lonely and mysterious. Within 
 the walls, one was surprised by the brightness of its 
 trim garden, the redness of its paths, the smoothness 
 of its lawns. It certainly looked the haven of rest 
 Hales thought it, and ought to have satisfied Zoe for 
 many a long day. Besides, Mrs. Clayden was a kind 
 little lady and spared no pains to make her young 
 guest comfortable. But her efforts were such that the 
 girl began to pine for the flesh-pots of life from the 
 very first. She tried valiantly to remember what she 
 had told Mr. Hales, to forget the stolen pleasures she 
 had enjoyed with Roy, all the many things that seemed 
 to call her back from this humdrum monotonous exist- 
 ence. She went so far as to demand some share of 
 the household duties, in order to occupy her mind. 
 But Mrs. Clayden laughed at her charming desire to 
 make herself useful, and assured her that her capable 
 old servants would be wounded mortally if she attempted 
 to do anything but eat the meals they provided, with 
 such punctilious formality, and perhaps take the dogs 
 
 261
 
 262 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 out for an occasional walk. She had no objection to 
 doing either; the food was good and well cooked, and, 
 although the dogs were old and wheezy and could not 
 go far, it was a relief to get away from the house where 
 everything went by clockwork from eight in the morn- 
 ing till nine at night, when doors were locked, win- 
 dows bolted and lights put out. 
 
 But Zoe never went straight to bed when she went 
 upstairs. This was the longed-for moment of respite 
 from the cramping atmosphere which had enveloped her 
 all day the moment for a surreptitious cigarette, a tip- 
 toe dance before the cheval glass. Her enjoyment of 
 that, however, had lost its edge, and she would sud- 
 denly turn out the light and throw herself down by 
 the open window as though to implore help from the 
 still night without. Her longings for Roy would arise, 
 until, recalling his last look and words, she burst into 
 tears and sobbed her heart out. Not so much now be- 
 cause she had lost him, as because her life seemed to 
 have come to an end. 
 
 As the daughter of a famous bishop, and the widow 
 of an equally illustrious general, Mrs. Clayden was the 
 personage of the neighborhood which was almost en- 
 tirely populated by city men and their kind. Her ex- 
 clusive circle was composed of a few derelicts of a 
 bygone day, who had not yet been driven thence by 
 the bricks and mortar of the speculating builder. 
 Therefore, as there was no occasion for entertaining, 
 the monotony of the day was only broken by a rare 
 visit from Hales or an occasional tea-party. 
 
 And work was no more easily found than when Zoe 
 had padded from office to office, or starved in order to 
 save a 'bus fare. For so many avenues were closed, 
 and her marketable value had not increased. The one 
 or two interviews accorded her, for companionships or 
 secretarial work, had resulted in nothing. She discov-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 263 
 
 ered that most women resented her good looks that all 
 were most inquisitive regarding her history. 
 
 She had stoutly refused to take a situation as gov- 
 erness, though many of Mrs. Clayden's friends offered 
 to find her one. And Hales agreed. He knew enough 
 of the world, and of women in general, to picture the 
 horror her story would arouse in the breasts of unsus- 
 pecting employers, and felt it was only fair to the girl, 
 and to them, to risk no such revelation. 
 
 "Patience," he wrote to Zoe, "is a virtue you would 
 do well to cultivate. The rest is doing you no harm 
 and I know Mrs. Clayden is only too glad to have 
 you. You say you are of no use to her. I beg to dif- 
 fer. Your bright young presence has done her worlds 
 of good, and as for the dogs just look at their figures ! 
 But if you really are as tired of doing nothing as you 
 say, what do you say to this? A friend of mine, Miss 
 Edith Seymour, who lives in Hampshire, and goes in 
 for bee-farming, wants an assistant. "Would you care 
 to go?" 
 
 It did not sound very alluring. A country village 
 bees an old maid. She could not make up her mind. 
 Neither did she like to tell Hales that her desire to 
 be good did not necessarily include a longing for the 
 wilds, nor a hankering for the most uninteresting of 
 her own sex. She did not want him to be disappointed 
 in her, and yet if she took this post and left it in a 
 short time, his disillusions would be just as great. 
 What should she may? Why couldn't she be in Lon- 
 don? 
 
 Although it was late autumn, it was fine and dry 
 enough for a tea-table to be spread under the large 
 cedar where Mrs. Clayden generally entertained her 
 friends, and Zoe darted about from one to the other 
 in her prettiest gown of lavender chiffon her brow 
 slightly puckered as she tried to think of two things
 
 264 THE LUBE OF THE FLAME 
 
 at once: Hales* letter and the various needs of those 
 around. 
 
 Suddenly her eyes fell on the white-clad figure of 
 a young woman crossing the lawn with Mrs. Hodder, 
 the Vicar's wife. Her heart stod still, whilst a look 
 of terror came into her face and she glanced helplessly 
 about as though in search of escape. For this young 
 creature the first she had seen there was Lena Storey, 
 one of her mother's best pupils and also the first to 
 forsake her. As Zoe watched her coming, the sight of 
 her smug fair face, her pale eyes, set too close together, 
 her somewhat self-satisfied smile, roused all the devils 
 within her and, instead of yielding to her impulse to 
 run away, she stood her ground, reflecting that here was 
 the chance she had longed for of telling Dunsworth 
 what she thought. A Storey was as good as any town 
 crier, her mother had once said. 
 
 Lena, who had evidently heard about Zoe's presence 
 in the house, held out her hand and exclaimed smil- 
 ingly : 
 
 "Why, Zoe, this is strange! Fancy meeting you 
 here!" 
 
 "It's no stranger than meeting you," retorted Zoe, 
 ignoring the hand. 
 
 "But I often come here. Mrs. Hodder happens to 
 be my godmother." 
 
 "Really. How delightful for her!" 
 
 Lena's pale eyes flashed and ran over the lavender 
 gown. She was aware that the dowagers were listen- 
 ing, but evidently wanted to be sure of their atten- 
 tion, for she raised her voice and remarked sweetly 
 that she wasn't quite sure whether it was Zoe at first, 
 as she expected to see her in mourning. 
 
 "What for? My sins, or" 
 
 "For your mother, of course." 
 
 "Considering the life my mother had in Dunsworth,
 
 265 
 
 I should be a fool to mourn her death, in black or 
 anything else. She's much happier where she is, poor 
 darling. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, Zoe!" 
 
 "Oh, Zoe!" mimicked Zoe, with a wicked smile. 
 
 "I'm sure you're not as heartless as that, or " 
 
 "I don't think you know anything at all about me. 
 Though I daresay you've said a lot probably here. 
 You wouldn't be Lena Storey if you hadn't. But that 
 doesn't prove you're right." 
 
 "Zoe, my dear " began Mrs. Clay den, who had been 
 listening with a look of bewilderment on her kind face. 
 "It's getting a little chilly, would you mind fetching 
 my shawl?" 
 
 Zoe left the scene of battle reluctantly. She guessed 
 that the moment she was out of earshot she would be 
 the topic of conversation. Her eyes burned with un- 
 shed tears, and as she stepped into the hall she caught 
 a glimpse of her face in the mirror. She looked a 
 perfect fury no wonder all those poor old women had 
 seemed startled. It was too bad she could not be left 
 alone. That even here in a quiet spot like this ill- 
 luck should pursue her in the shape of Lena Storey 
 with her spiteful tongue. Simultaneously Lydia's 
 words shot into her mind. They were applicable even 
 here. For she could never go back to the humdrum 
 life of little trivialities and senseless gossip. And as 
 she strolled slowly back, she had a mad idea of blurting 
 out everything and seeing the shocked faces grow more 
 horrified. She hated them all, and pictured herself a 
 baited bull with Lena as the red rag. 
 
 They were all so intent on what Lena was saying 
 that they did not notice she was so near. So she heard 
 Mrs. Clayden exclaim: 
 
 "It can't be true. Mr. Hales would" Whilst 
 Lena who was standing before her caught up hur-
 
 266 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 riedly: "But it is, everybody said so, and that's why 
 one couldn't go on knowing Mrs. Dereham. And every- 
 one says Zoe certainly broke her mother's heart and 
 that the man actually came down in a gray car 
 when " 
 
 Zoe saw red. She dashed in amongst these seem- 
 ingly inoffensive beings, and pushed Lena roughly 
 aside. 
 
 "You liar!" she cried. "You damned liar!" 
 
 Most of the ladies sprang to their feet in horror, one 
 or two seemed rooted to the spot. Lena subsided on to 
 a chair. 
 
 "It's true!" cried Zoe, "for I didn't break my moth- 
 er's heart, how dare she say it! How dare she? And 
 if I did, it was only because of the way I was treated 
 just because I was poor, and prettier than most of the 
 other girls and better born. It's their horrid jeal- 
 ousy and wicked evil tongues that killed my mother. 
 And and if any man would come now to fetch me 
 in his car I'd go gladly rather than go on breathing 
 the same air as a lot of unkind old scandal-mongers 
 like yourselves. And it wouldn't be me God would 
 blame the most " 
 
 "Oh, hush, Zoe don't blaspheme " 
 
 "My poor child, listen " 
 
 "Lena didn't mean what you " 
 
 "She did, she did! She meant to be nasty from the 
 first, because I wouldn't take her horrid hand, the 
 hypocrite!" retorted Zoe. "Why, I'd as soon touch 
 a snake or a a leper! And you were all listening, and 
 enjoying, and believing every word. I saw you, and 
 I hate you, every one of you. And listen! It's true 
 I went away with a man and it's just as true I'm go- 
 ing to him now 
 
 She flung off Mrs. Clayden's detaining arm, brushed 
 past Mrs. Hodder, scowled at Lena, and tore back to-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 267 
 
 wards the house, before any of them had recovered 
 from the effect of the bomb she had flung in their 
 midst. 
 
 "Of course it isn't true, and she doesn't mean any- 
 thing of the kind," said Mrs. Clayden, with a nervous 
 little laugh as she tried to persuade them to finish 
 their tea and regard the matter as an unfortunate ex- 
 hibition of a schoolgirl's temper, which none would 
 regret more than Zoe herself when she had cooled 
 down. 
 
 "It's a pity!" agreed the Vicar's wife. "Such a 
 lovely girl, too! But there! As I always say beauty 
 is only skin deep after all. Let it be a lesson to you, 
 Lena, to control your passions at all times." 
 
 "And to curb your imagination and your tongue," 
 murmured a quiet little woman with sympathetic eyes. 
 
 "Ah, that poor tongue! What does the Bible say?" 
 laughed another. 
 
 Thus each, as Mrs. Clayden told Hales, who told Zoe 
 later on, did her best to restore peace in the fluttered 
 circle, yet most probably all, excepting perhaps the 
 quiet woman, went away believing there was a good 
 deal of truth in Lena's story, after all. 
 
 Meanwhile Zoe tossed some things into a handbag, 
 changed into walking attire and labeled her trunks. 
 She was too angry to realize the extent of her offense 
 in going off like this. She wanted to be out and away 
 from a life which, she had now proved, she could not 
 live. 
 
 Trams ran from Edgware to Cricklewood. There she 
 could take a 'bus through Kilburn to the Marble Arch, 
 and thence anywhere. No one saw her go. The maids 
 were in their own quarters and the group under the 
 cedar tree had not yet broken up. She reflected, with 
 sudden anger, that they were still discussing her and 
 hated Lena with every fiber of her being.
 
 268 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 She had got to the Marble Arch by the time she de- 
 cided that of course she was going back to the stage. 
 She had tried to please Hales by seeking other work, 
 but that was over now. She had done with humbug 
 and wanted London and gayety. The very sight of the 
 crowded pavements stirred her blood. She wondered 
 how she could have kept away so long. She had enough 
 money to pay for comfortable lodgings for a week or 
 two, and decided to go to a small hotel she had seen 
 in a side street near Charing Cross. She smiled grimly 
 as she recalled her threat on leaving the startled group. 
 Of course they had believed her and were probably tell- 
 ing others that she had fled with a man in a gray mo- 
 tor-car. But to-morrow she would write to say she 
 was sorry she had to leave so suddenly and ask for 
 her trunk to be sent to the respectable lodgings where 
 she was looking out for work. The laugh would then 
 be on her side. 
 
 As for work what? Hadn't Deller said he might 
 have something for her next time she applied? She 
 would go to the Glorious to-night and see what Gracie 
 said. They had not met since the day they had ap- 
 plied there together. Pride had prevented her going, 
 but now she was forgetting what pride was. 
 
 She secured a room without any difficulty in the 
 dreary but, at all events, respectable house which bore 
 the legend of Burton's Private Hotel. The outlook 
 from her window was over roofs and stacks of chimney 
 pots. The rumble of London came floating in to stir her 
 pulses and make her forget her loneliness. She un- 
 packed her bag, locked the door and ran eagerly down 
 the steep stairs. She felt very hungry and decided to 
 try the table d'hote dinner. In spite of her troubles 
 she had not yet learned the value of money and the 
 thought of her well-stocked purse was cheering enough 
 to spur her on to any extravagance. It was only when
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 269 
 
 her money had nearly all dwindled away that she would 
 grow anxious and wonder where it had gone. 
 
 The door was open when she reached the Glorious,' 
 which was enveloped in a blaze of light and colored 
 posters. London was beginning to fill again, and a 
 never-ending procession of carriages, motor-cars and 
 taxis were drawing up at the grand entrance. She 
 watched the expensively dressed women, escorted by 
 equally expensive-looking! men. How free from care 
 they looked; so wrapped in opulence that gulfs seemed 
 to divide them from the watching crowd. That was the 
 world she belonged to the world she had perhaps more 
 right to than many in it and yet here she was, un- 
 noticed, ignored by all. 
 
 An idea suddenly seized her. She would go in, too. 
 
 As she entered, and made for the booking office, she 
 was startled to see Gracie's full-sized photograph smil- 
 ing at her from the foot of the crimson carpeted stairs. 
 Gracie! Who a few months back was quite unknown. 
 She remembered how beautifully the girl danced, and 
 yet how plain and commonplace she was. She heard 
 bits of conversation from those around and gathered 
 that it was the first night of "The River Girl," that 
 Gracie" was in the title role. Somehow that seemed a 
 good omen. She moved with a feeling of elation to- 
 wards the office. 
 
 "She's a wonderful dancer," said a clear voice be- 
 hind her. "Leonora can't compare with her. It isn't 
 that she's beautiful, either." 
 
 "They say the Duke of Aile thinks so." 
 
 "He's shown it their engagement is announced to- 
 night!" 
 
 Gracie a Duchess! Ugly, vulgar Gracie! She could 
 hardly believe her ears and was so surprised that she 
 forgot to get her ticket. At the entrance to the dress 
 circle she was stopped by an official:
 
 270 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Your ticket, Madam." 
 
 "I I " she faltered, confused. 
 
 "The lady's made a mistake, ours are stalls," 
 said a familiar voice beside her. And Raynor 's hand 
 was passed under her arm whilst he led her down 
 again. 
 
 "Don't," she whispered, twisting herself free. 
 "How dare you touch me you sneak?" 
 
 Raynor gave a little laugh: 
 
 "Strong language, my child when I'm only asking 
 you to sit with me." 
 
 "I don't want to I don't want to have anything to 
 do with you. I'm not so poor that I can't afford my 
 own ticket." 
 
 "Of course not. Only I'm lonely " 
 
 "I can't help that," she replied, moving away. 
 "And I'm going anyhow." 
 
 "Don't be a silly little fool listen " 
 
 "I tell you I don't want to have anything to do with 
 you; I'm going to get to " 
 
 "Don't be a silly little fool." 
 
 She pushed through the heavy swinging doors and 
 stepped into the street. It was fairly empty now the 
 pit and gallery queues had gone in long ago a stray 
 taxi or two came rushing up. She paused, telling her- 
 self she would take one and get out of his way. The 
 unexpected meeting filled her with sudden apprehen- 
 sion. There was something in him that attracted her. 
 She felt afraid of it. Moreover, she was very angry 
 with him and knew that any further conversation must 
 lead to her saying more than she might care to recall. 
 She was just about to put up her hand when she felt 
 a slight touch upon her shoulder. 
 
 "Zoe," said Raynor, "don't be a fool. Come back." 
 
 "No, I won't, I don't want to. I'm going home." 
 
 "To that young idiot, Keith?"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 271 
 
 "You know it isn't. You did your best to prevent 
 that," she exclaimed bitterly, walking on briskly. 
 
 ''Silly little child. Don't you know all's fair m 
 love and war?" he murmured as he followed. "That 
 I love you!" 
 
 "Love!" she sneered. 
 
 "Yes, love! Haven't you had a proof of it? Wasn't 
 I willing to go on showing it? It's you who 're the 
 sneak, Zoe or rather the traitor. You left me for that 
 young fop, and " 
 
 "Don't call him names to me." 
 
 "Well he's been a pretty beastly cad to you, my 
 dear." 
 
 "Because you interfered and and told him lies 
 and" 
 
 "Not lies, Zoe. You came to me willingly you know. 
 You wouldn't have left me if it hadn't been for your 
 trouble. Then you got some foolish idea into that lovely 
 little head and imagined I was a monster of iniquity, 
 and that he who took you from me, was a god. 
 We're both very much alike really, only his love for 
 you has gone, and mine has not. And as for what I 
 told him, I couldn't help it. I didn't know you were 
 with him and I was anxiously seeking you. Then I met 
 him in Piccadilly and asked if he knew where you were 
 and it all came out " 
 
 "Well, it isn't any good talking about it, now," she 
 said, with a sigh. "He's done with me and I with 
 him and you." 
 
 "You wouldn't if you knew how I've been longing 
 and looking for you. For I guessed he'd leave you in 
 the lurch, but couldn't find out where you were." 
 
 "I'm not in the gutter, if that's what you mean," 
 she exclaimed angrily. "I have plenty of of 
 friends ! ' ' 
 
 "I'm sure of it. You deserve shoals of them," he
 
 272 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 smiled, as they crossed the road and turned into a 
 quiet byway. 
 
 "I wish you'd leave me alone," went on Zoe. 
 "You've prevented me staying to see the play." 
 
 ' ' I prevented you ! When I asked you to sit it through 
 with me I followed you in on purpose. I wanted to 
 see you, close to, again." 
 
 "You always go to first nights, so that isn't true " 
 
 "All the same, I followed you you were standing 
 outside when my taxi stopped. I could hardly believe 
 my eyes. I'd been eating my heart out for you, and 
 I was so glad to see you that I thought you'd be pleased 
 to see me and listen to me " 
 
 "I don't want to I don't ever want to hear a word 
 from you," she retorted angrily. "And you won't 
 make me either." 
 
 "I shouldn't dream of making you. I shouldn't 
 dream of forcing anyone to love me. If you come back 
 to me, you must -come willingly. But, I '11 tell you this, 
 my girl if you come you'll never regret it. You'll 
 have everything that money can give you go where 
 you like do what you like all in return for a little 
 love given ungrudgingly out of your sweet heart. ' ' 
 
 His voice shook with emotion as he spoke, walking 
 close beside her, without attempting to touch or force 
 her to him. 
 
 She made no reply. Her mind circled back to her 
 life during the last months, the ups and downs, the un- 
 satisfied longings and constant unrest. Then had fol- 
 lowed those weeks of bliss when the thought of work 
 no longer worried her and yet here she was homeless, 
 likely to be penniless ere long. For Deller would cer- 
 tainly require no one yet and the others, who could 
 help, were not in town. 
 
 She had only to stretch out her hand and wealth and 
 comfort were hers to command. A life, of plenty and
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 273 
 
 content, not such as satisfied Mrs. Clayden and her 
 kind, but the glorious life of pleasure she loved. What 
 he asked in return was little enough, in all faith. 
 
 They had reached Piccadilly Circus, and she stood 
 irresolute upon the curb. 
 
 "Are you hungry?" he asked. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 "I dined at my hotel and I really wanted to see 
 that play," she faltered. 
 
 He laughed and beckoned a taxi. 
 
 She hesitated before getting in. A thousand things 
 had flashed into her mind, a procession of faces passed 
 before her eyes. She had the feeling of one standing 
 on the edge of a precipice something urged her down 
 whilst something called her back. Up here she knew 
 exactly what there was; patches of barren waste land 
 a field or two a stony road Down there who 
 knew what beauties lurked within those depths? 
 
 She took the plunge. In other words, she got into 
 the cab and sat down with a thumping heart. 
 
 "I don't think I want to go there, after all," she 
 ventured as he followed. 
 
 "Well then we won't. We'll go to the Majestic 
 and see Leonora dance. 
 
 "What a fickle puss, it is! Why don't you want to 
 go?" 
 
 "I've seen Gracie dance before I only went because 
 I wanted to speak to her between the acts. But now, 
 there's no reason why I should." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "For one thing she won't want to see me to-night. 
 I heard someone say she was engaged to a duke Is 
 it true? It seems impossible! She's such a dreadful 
 cockney, quite out of the gutter and " 
 
 "It's just those that catch the dukes their vulgar- 
 ity's so refreshing to the young idiots that they fancy 
 it'll go on amusing them all their lives and so they
 
 274 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 let themselves get caught. They know they're being 
 fished for and they bite willingly. But Grade's a 
 good sort, and she ought to feel flattered at your call- 
 ing on her." 
 
 "I don't want to now," said Zoe shortly. 
 
 "That's how I dispose of everything that displeases 
 me," he said, throwing the tickets out of the open win- 
 dow. ' ' To the four winds with it ! " 
 
 "You can afford to," said Zoe, impressed by his 
 indifference to the waste of a guinea. 
 
 "Not always so easily," he smiled. "Now there's 
 that young brute who's been so horrid to you " 
 
 "Don't. I'm going to tear up all memory of him 
 and throw the pieces to the four winds! And you 
 must help me!" she laughed, a little hysterically. 
 
 "My dear of course I will." 
 
 " If I tell you I '11 forgive you although I was fright- 
 fully annoyed with you what will you say?" 
 
 "That you'll never have cause to be angry again. 
 That I'm your slave to command. What's mine is 
 yours. What doth your ladyship require? Sapristi! 
 It's here. Where doth your Highness wish to go? 
 Pegasus shall bear you there " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "Shall we say Paris, first?" 
 
 "Done! I'm sick of London. Of everything in, 
 above, and around it. Will you forgive me for being 
 cross and take me away from it?" 
 
 "Will I! We'll go to-morrow!" 
 
 He seized her hand. It fluttered like a frightened 
 bird. For she could not see, for the darkness around. 
 And high up, on the safe banks she had left forever, she 
 saw a face her mother's. 
 
 The next moment from the security of his arms 
 she laughed back mockingly, and bade good-by to pov- 
 erty, toil and trouble.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 * {fllHEN it's settled. There'll be no nonsense this 
 1 time?" 
 
 "Such as?" 
 
 Zoe's eyes, dark-rimmed, tired, though still beautiful, 
 were fixed intently on Keith's face. There was a look 
 of expectancy in them on her pinched features. 
 
 "You know," said Keith, flicking some cigarette ash 
 from his sleeve. "Getting bored, and going for long 
 walks with strange men." 
 
 "You needn't be afraid of that. I don't care if I 
 never see another man but you That's all I ask. I 
 was sick of London seven months ago, I'm just as sick 
 of Paris now. ' ' 
 
 "I don't wonder, poor kid," he murmured kindly, 
 "but thank goodness that's over. We'll settle down in 
 our little nest and be as happy as turtle doves, but 
 there's something else." 
 
 "What?" Her face paled and her eyes widened. 
 
 He pointed to the wine-glasses in front of them. 
 
 "That. No wine or absinthe, unless I give it you." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because it's getting to be a habit and habits aren't 
 dropped as easily as they're picked up." 
 
 "I couldn't help it. I wanted to forget " 
 
 "Well, there'll be no sorrows to drown now, and a 
 drinking woman is the devil! I don't want you like 
 that. Love '11 make you forget, little Zoe love! The 
 game of battledore and shuttlecock is over, and I've 
 won." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 275
 
 276 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Raynor and I have been playing both battledores, 
 with you as shuttlecock. That's over now." 
 
 "Yes. It's over! Thank the Lord! I never meant 
 to see him again. Here's to the new life Roy hur- 
 rah!" 
 
 She threw back her head and drained the glass. 
 With a little laugh he did the same. 
 
 Through the smoke-filled, heavily-scented atmosphere 
 her eyes swept the room. It was large, but crowded 
 with men and women, of various nationalities, whose 
 noisy chatter, and loud laughter, vied with the strains 
 of the orchestra which occupied one end of the room, 
 whilst around it along the sides, leaving the center 
 free, were the bar and various small tables, all occu- 
 pied by couples sipping absinthe, wine, or beer, whilst 
 they carried on their love making unabashed, or jested 
 coarsely with their neighbors. 
 
 The floor was taken by a strange medley of dancers 
 who gyrated with complete abandon to the music. 
 Now and then women danced together. Here and there 
 a half-drunken couple stumbled through their steps or 
 executed a wild ragtime. It was a horrible scene. But 
 Zoe had got used to it. She had danced herself, with 
 many a stranger. Had learnt to drink absinthe with 
 men she would have fled from a few months ago. Had 
 laughed, with the loudest, at more than one coarse 
 jest. 
 
 But her business there was really on the platform, 
 just above the orchestra. Here singers, reciters and 
 dancers appeared, from time to time, in the flimsiest of 
 garments and with as little sense of decorum as the 
 audience itself. 
 
 She had been dancing there for some eight weeks 
 when Keith, wandering down the Boulevard Montmar- 
 tre, had dropped into the cafe chantant known as "La 
 Chambre Doree." He had been horrified to see her
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 277 
 
 there. Her beauty exquisite as a lily in that awful 
 milieu captured him afresh. She looked so fragile, 
 such a child, despite the hard lines about her mouth, the 
 dare-devilry of her speech, that he was filled with re- 
 morse for his share in her downfall. Nevertheless, he 
 determined to avoid temptation and keep away, consol- 
 ing himself with the assurance that it was Raynor who 
 was really to blame Raynor, who had driven her to 
 this hell. But, a night or two later, he found his way 
 back just as Zoe was about to dance. 
 
 She saw him at once, and danced for him. She sang 
 Tosti's "Good-bye," also for him, and seemed as sweet 
 and fresh and utterly desirable as ever. So he suc- 
 cumbed and told his plans. He would take a cottage 
 in the forest of Fontainebleau. It belonged to an artist 
 friend who had gone to Canada for some months. 
 There she would forget all she had grown to hate in 
 Paris, and later they might go back to England or 
 would she trust herself to him anywhere? Would she 
 let him arrange her life forever? 
 
 Tears filled her eyes as she assented. She told her 
 pitiful story. How she had come to Paris seven months 
 ago. Raynor had taken a flat near the Pare Monceau, 
 and 
 
 "Were you happy with him really happy?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "As happy as I could be anywhere without you, old 
 dear > Or knowing I'm I'm not what I was meant to 
 be. But I can't help that. I meant to be as good as 
 any other girl, but I wasn't given a chance no one 
 explained a thing, and I had to find out for myself that 
 what I thought firm ground beneath my feet was often 
 oozy bog, or bottomless quicksand. And the mud sticks, 
 be it ever so little, Roy and good people are quick to 
 detect it. They know nothing of your floundering 
 about and trying to get away, they think you walked
 
 278 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 in willingly just as a child goes out to paddle, and 
 they're all for sending you back lest you soil their 
 clean floors and fresh carpets. And their life is so 
 dull, so trivial, so mean. There's always someone to 
 make mountains out of molecules, to read a nasty mean- 
 ing into what you do or say. It's funny, considering 
 they're supposed to know nothing. But they're often 
 more foul-minded than many of the people here They 
 tell you, you're wicked until they make you so. And I 
 wanted life! Also I had to live But I had no 
 thought of Raymond Raynor, in my mind, when I threw 
 up the sponge. I only meant to seek the work I like, 
 and to keep as straight in it as millions of others do. 
 But luck was against me Deller's new piece was on, 
 he had no vacancies, and the thought of the weary 
 search was too fearsome So I came to Paris with 
 Raymond Raynor, only too delighted to throw poverty 
 and care aside." 
 
 ''But what did old Hales say?" 
 
 "He doesn't know. Raymond sent to Edgeware for 
 my trunk and the man took a letter from me saying I 
 had found work as a companion. It was true enough! 
 I've heard nothing since. You say he looked you up 
 and asked if you had seen me. That shows he didn't 
 quite believe I had got work. Or like all good peo- 
 ple, he had his suspicions and couldn't forget the mud 
 I had been in." 
 
 She gave a hard little laugh. His face was grave. 
 "Was he blaming himself again? He needn't do that. 
 She didn't regret one moment spent with him noth- 
 ing except their terrible parting the word he had called 
 her. But, she had earned her right to that now! Oh, 
 yes that, and worse! 
 
 He winced a little at the words, and his fair face 
 flushed. 
 
 "Don't, Zoe I was a brute. Fact is, all men are
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 279 
 
 brutes. We only think of what we want to get. And 
 I loved you, and you you " 
 
 "I loved you, Roy I do now. I never want to see 
 Raymond again, or anyone. I'd rather be with you in 
 a little hut on a mountain top than with anyone else 
 in a palace. I want to be as good as I can be now. I 
 don't want this life. I'll worship you more than ever 
 for taking me out of it It's too late for me to be as 
 straight as Zoe Dereham ought to be, but I'll do the 
 next best I'll keep straight with you, and for you " 
 
 "And forget old Raynor I'm not as rich as he 
 is." 
 
 "I'd rather go to anyone than him. It's true. Oh, 
 he was very good and kind and attentive but I owe 
 this to him " She waved her hand round the room 
 which was getting more crowded, more noisy, less 
 decorous. 
 
 "And I can never forgive him that," she ended, with 
 a sob. 
 
 Keith sprang to his feet. 
 
 "Let's get out of it now at once." 
 
 Zoe shook her head and smiled sadly: 
 
 "Not so fast I'm not my own mistress here. 
 There's Madame to reckon with. I'm due for another 
 dance soon." 
 
 "But now we've arranged " 
 
 "After the dance, we'll settle matters with her. I 
 daren't risk a row, or " 
 
 "Why a row?" 
 
 She sighed and glanced quickly round: 
 
 "Perhaps if I tell you everything you'll want to 
 change your mind and leave me here. It might be bet- 
 ter for you, though God knows it would be worse than 
 hell for me now I've had a glimpse of the heaven you 
 offer me see a chance of rising from the mire." 
 
 He sat down heavily.
 
 280 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Tell me," he murmured "I swear I'll keep to my 
 word. I love you, Zoe no matter what has happened. 
 Jealousy, even more than disillusion, made me put you 
 aside once, it won't do so again. Whatever you've 
 done, I know it's because you couldn't help yourself. 
 Underneath it all, your soul is still as beautiful as 
 your face. Fate's been against you from the first, and 
 I, one of its sorry instruments, thanks to my cursed 
 poverty and and 
 
 "Never mind that," she interrupted, her face aglow, 
 her heart singing with joy at his faith in her. Ah! 
 She would show him that he did not believe in vain. 
 She would shake off these horrible shackles, once and 
 for all. 
 
 "I told you that Raymond was kind," she went on. 
 "I believe he really cared for me a lot. He gave me a 
 ripping time. And I adored Paris. I had no time 
 to think, there was always something to be done. But 
 about Christmas time he began to change. He laughed 
 at my singing, complained of my extravagance, was 
 sulky and preoccupied. I felt frightened and showed 
 it. He saw that and played with me like a cat with a 
 mouse. He left me for hours, days and nights. He 
 went to Monte Carle for three weeks. And I began 
 to think. That's fatal, you know when when well, 
 I got fond of champagne. He was furious about that, 
 when he came back, though he drank heavily himself. 
 He was more bestial than ever. We had endless rows. 
 Then suddenly I knew. It was Madame Dardino. She 
 had him in her power again. He hadn't told her about 
 me, but she found out. She came to the flat. There 
 was a dreadful scene we were fighting like cats when 
 he came home, and he flung me out. Hours after, I 
 went back. The concierge sai' 1 they had gone that 
 Lydia had called to see me. She had been several times 
 since I met her in the Rue de Rivoli. She used to be
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 281 
 
 in the Yellow Ducklings, and was the first to explain 
 things I did not know. There she is, over there " 
 
 He looked at a handsome, somewhat florid, woman 
 who was dancing a waltz with an English tourist. The 
 man was none too sober, and Lydia was laughing im- 
 moderately at him. 
 
 "But she's a good sort, all the same," said Zoe, noting 
 the look in Roy's eyes. "She said she had given up 
 struggling for a living to lead a merry life but she 
 was treated pretty much as Raynor treated me, and 
 drifted over here. And she saved my life then, though 
 I don't know that I ought to be grateful to her. When 
 the concierge told her what had happened and that I 
 had gone, no one knew where, she got frightened and 
 began to look for me. She found me down by the 
 Seine she was just in time. Even then she had to 
 struggle with me you see I was mad with despair 
 and probably hunger. I hadn't a penny on me noth- 
 ing to make life seem worth living. I wanted to die. 
 But Lydia wouldn't let me. She took me to her room 
 and looked after me. Though even then she wouldn't 
 help me to this kind of thing. She said I wasn't fitted 
 for it. But it's wonderful what you can do when you 
 set your teeth. She wanted to keep me until I got 
 suitable work. But that was impossible without ref- 
 erences or friends. So one day I followed her here and 
 danced Madame wanted me to sign a contract, but 
 Lydia wouldn't let me. She said I must be left free. 
 But I soon found that it was only freedom in name. 
 I have to dance twice each night and make myself pleas- 
 ant to any man, in between. And I so hated it, that I 
 tried to get employed at a theater instead but these 
 people had me watched, and threatened to denounce me 
 as a bad character to the police. It was easier to 
 stay It was less horrible than being listed as a " pros- 
 tituee," and subjected to the police vigilance that
 
 282 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 means. Of being branded whether innocent or not. 
 But of course if I don't have to look for work they 
 can't watch me like that." 
 
 "We'll make sure of their leaving you alone at all 
 events," said Roy. "Let's speak to Lydia and 111 
 see Madame afterwards." 
 
 And so Zoe bade good-by to Paris. 
 
 She was determined to like the new life no matter how 
 lonely she might be. Roy had taken over the old 
 French caretakers with the cottage, and warned her 
 that she might never see another being for days to- 
 gether, when he was in England where of course he 
 would have to go occasionally to keep Sir Jasper's mind 
 at rest. But she was convinced that she would be ab- 
 solutely happy. Lydia had promised to look her up. 
 She never wished to see anyone else who could remind 
 her how deeply she had drunk of the dregs of life. 
 She loved Roy more than ever, nothing could alter that. 
 She was sure she could live here in this quaint white 
 cottage on the edge of the beautiful forest, forever and 
 ever. 
 
 She laughed merrily when Lydia said she deserved 
 to be shot if she changed her mind. 
 
 "There's no fear of that Lydia. I'm beyond the 
 pale, of course but I'll do my best to stay like this. 
 Perhaps some day I shall get back become as good and 
 proper as I might have been if my eyes had \been 
 opened in time anyhow, I've found one thing untrue." 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 "I've got a neglected opportunity back and I'm 
 making the best of it. Don't you understand? I was 
 told once that there's four things that come not back: 
 the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and 
 the neglected opportunity." 
 
 "It isn't the same one, silly. Those words are true
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 283 
 
 enough. If we go about in sack-cloth and ashes we'll 
 never change our pasts shall we now? I don't mind, 
 my life is better than it was. Awful sometimes with 
 the end in view that comes to all like me the end I 
 saved you from." 
 
 Zoe sat hushed in the pretty cottage room. 
 
 "The Seine?" she asked. 
 
 "That or any other river. We all drift there on the 
 tide of pleasure or the ebb of pain. Once our beau- 
 ty's gone what are we worth? Too degraded for any 
 other life . But you, as you say you might get back 
 I wonder, Zoe, if you've the pluck to do it, really." 
 
 "Oh, don't bother your head about that. Let's have 
 a drink!" laughed Zoe, tossing her cigarette-end 
 through the open window and moving towards the 
 door. 
 
 "I don't mind if I do," smiled Lydia. "It helps 
 one to get over these silly ideas. I don't know why 
 I have them. I suppose it's the country air." 
 
 After the first few days Zoe began to wonder how 
 she could possibly not feel bored. Her love for music 
 had waned, her pleasure in dancing was gone. The 
 long hours in the cafe had left her too exhausted for 
 anything but bed, and the habit clung to her even here. 
 Roy would rise early for a long walk but she rarely 
 got up before twelve, when he would return for 
 dejeuner, and the afternoon would be spent in daw- 
 dling about the green-shot glades, and talking more or 
 less about love. 
 
 That was in May when Nature was at her best. 
 Zoe, who had reveled in her beauties at first, and loved 
 her when a child, soon found too much sameness in 
 her charms. In her heart she wished Roy had chosen 
 the Bois de Boulogne. There was more life there. 
 
 In June she was longing for the sight of Paris. She 
 had never seen the acacias in full bloom, nor the city
 
 284 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 in summer. When she said she was sick of it she meant 
 of Montmartre and the dreadful cafe bat Paris the 
 beautiful city of fashion and endless gayety, must be a 
 sight in June! 
 
 Roy weakened and hired a motor-ear. They spent 
 the day away from the cool forest. Zoe's raptures were 
 less for the acacias down the Champs Elysees and along 
 the boulevards than for the crowds thronging the pave- 
 ments. At the cafe where they dined she was amused 
 and pleased to see how people looked at her. She was 
 proud of Roy. 
 
 "Look they think we're newly married," she whis- 
 pered, and drew back a little scared by the scowl on 
 his face. 
 
 On their return they found a letter forwarded from 
 his hotel. Sir Jasper was in town and thought of join- 
 ing Roy in Paris for a week or so. Besides, he wanted 
 to talk about something very important. With a grunt 
 of disapproval Roy stuffed the letter in his pocket. It 
 was a nuisance, but he'd have to meet the old boy. 
 Zoe must make up her mind to do without him as long 
 as Sir Jasper stayed. Would she be happy no han- 
 kerings after Paris? No stealing up there on the 
 sly? 
 
 She was very indignant. Couldn't he trust her? 
 Wouldn't he believe that the glimpse he had given 
 her to-day would satisfy her for months? She'd be as 
 happy as the squirrels or the birds. Happier, in fact. 
 For she knew he loved her. That even if Sir Jasper 
 wanted to bother him about marriage he'd find some 
 way of putting it off until perhaps he could marry 
 her! Would he marry her, after everything? 
 
 "You stupid little goose," he laughed. "You know 
 I would. But there isn't much chance of that ever 
 coming off old Jasper doesn't allow himself to be
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAAIH 285 
 
 talked over. But I'll tell you this, Zoe although 
 I'm willing to overlook the past, you must remember 
 the present is mine. I trust you. Be a good girl." 
 
 She pondered his words seriously. He should have 
 no cause for complaint. Though if she had known 
 how terribly quiet and lonely it was, in that particular 
 part of the forest, she would never have said she w r ould 
 be happy alone. The old woman who did the cook- 
 ing and housework was as deaf as a post the old man 
 taciturn enough to be likewise, though there was some 
 pleasure to be derived from seeing them about. But 
 after a day or two she recalled a story she had heard 
 about a couple like these two (who knew they might 
 be the same!) murdering their young mistress. And 
 she got nervous and took to locking herself up for 
 hours Then that mood passed, when she had argued 
 that she was a fool and not worth killing considering 
 it was Roy who had the money, and she began to take 
 longer walks in search of some excitement. But she 
 kept her promise not to speak to strange men, though 
 she met one or two who would have been willing to 
 speak to her. One day she passed a party of jolly Eng- 
 lish girls and went home feeling very wretched. For 
 she suddenly realized the gulf between them and her- 
 self all they stood for; the happy English home, the 
 sweet, clean life. She realized how evil she had be- 
 come, how warped her nature, how blunted her sense 
 of morality. She wept for hours. She was sure that 
 if Mr. Hales had put her amongst such girls, with such 
 a woman as their mother seemed to be, she would never 
 have come to Paris with Raynor. 
 
 That night she drank too much. 
 
 The next day, when she sat in the small garden, feel- 
 ing an absolute sinner, she suddenly heard the gate 
 click and saw Mr. Hales coming towards her. Her sur-
 
 286 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 prise was immense. He seemed to come in answer to 
 her prayer and yet, was he to be trusted a second 
 time? 
 
 "History repeats itself," she smiled, determined to 
 be as indifferent as possible. "Did you know I was 
 here or did you think the cottage a possible haven? 
 Or have you come to scold about Edgeware I haven't 
 seen you since then, have I?" 
 
 "Ate you say, history repeats itself," he replied eva- 
 sively. "I've come to see you for the same reason." 
 
 "Did Roy snd you?" she asked eagerly. 
 
 At the thought of losing Boy all her remorse fled. 
 She meant to fight for her lover this time. 
 
 "No. I came over with Sir Jasper. But I had been 
 wondering what was keeping Roy in France, and when 
 he mentioned quite casually that he had stayed in the 
 forest, I guessed the attraction was here. I taxed him 
 with it but he would not say. I wondered if it 
 could be you. And as I knew this was the cottage 
 where he must have sta} r ed it belongs to a mutual 
 friend I came " 
 
 "But I don't understand. Does he know?" 
 
 "No I thought I would appeal to you first, Zoe 
 to your better nature, to the good in you." 
 
 "Can you believe there's anything good in me after 
 Edgeware?" 
 
 "Yes most certainly," he replied gravely and then 
 kindly and almost pleadingly he went on to show her 
 not only the wrong she was doing to herself, but the 
 harm she was doing to Keith Sir Jasper was angry 
 with the boy. He was neglecting duties by staying 
 away from home If she would give him up he would 
 help her again. 
 
 "How? By taking me back to Mrs. Clayden?" 
 sneered Zoe. 
 
 "How would you like my bee-keeping friend? She's
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 287 
 
 young and jolly. She has three or four other girls 
 with her." 
 
 "I don't know. I must think about it," retorted 
 Zoe, with an ill-concealed yawn. "Have a drink 
 whiskey and soda, I suppose. I prefer an absinthe." 
 
 "When will you decide?" he asked, as he was about 
 to go. 
 
 "I'll tell you to-morrow, old man," she answered 
 wickedly. "But remember, if I say yes, no Mrs. Clay- 
 dens, young or old." 
 
 She laughed silently as she watched him go. He was 
 shocked. It was fun shocking parsons. And yet she 
 burst into uncontrollable tears. Why should she give 
 Roy up? And go to a bee farm with a lot of stupid 
 girls who might behave like Lena no, thank you! 
 But, could it be more lonely there than here Could 
 they be more boring than Roy was, at times? And yet 
 she loved Roy loved him loved him! And just be- 
 cause she loved him, oughtn't she to give him up?
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 IT was about eleven o'clock the next morning when 
 Lydia, passing a small alley leading into the Boule- 
 vard Montmartre, suddenly saw the familiar figure of 
 a girl dart back and disappear through a doorway. 
 
 "Zoe!" she ejaculated. "By gum! Zoe!" 
 
 Yet she could hardly believe her eyes, and stood 
 looking up the sordid byway as though she expected to 
 see her emerge again. Then realizing that, if it really 
 were Zoe, the girl had probably run away from her, she 
 ran forward hurriedly, made for the same door, and 
 plunged into a narrow passage. There, sure enough, 
 stood Zoe, shrinking back against the wall, her eyes wells 
 of tears, her face haggard. 
 
 "What the devil are you doing here?" demanded 
 Lydia, seizing her by the shoulders and twisting her 
 round until the light fell full upon her tell-tale fea- 
 tures. "Why aren't you in Fontainebleau ? Do you 
 know what kind of place you're in? Can't you speak? 
 Have you lost your tongue as well as your senses?" 
 
 "Let me go, leave me alone," whimpered Zoe. 
 
 "Not me. I'm going to stick to you like a leech, my 
 child. If I don't, others will and they won't let you 
 go easily, either." 
 
 "I'm able to look after myself," said Zoe ungra- 
 ciously. 
 
 "It looks like it, when I find you coming out of one 
 of the worst houses in the neighborhood. Where's Mr. 
 Keith ? He didn 't bring you here, so don 't pretend it. ' ' 
 
 "I never said he did and " 
 
 288
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 289 
 
 "Then, who did? Have you quarreled with Mr. 
 Keith?" 
 
 "No I've come of my own accord." 
 
 "Then you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Zoe 
 Dereham, after all your promises to keep straight, and 
 true to him. For you haven't been here alone, I know. 
 It'll serve you right if he sends you back." 
 
 "He won't have the chance," said Zoe grimly. 
 
 "Then you have run away! I'm disgusted with you. 
 Here, let's get out of this Is that your bag ? Nothing 
 else upstairs? Then come." 
 
 She had picked up the bag Zoe had set against the 
 wall and, taking the girl by the arm, led her out. 
 
 "You're jolly lucky to get out of there like this," 
 she said, as they walked briskly down into the boule- 
 vard. "You must have a good guardian angel watch- 
 ing over you, that's all I can say." 
 
 "Don't you consider you're acting towards me in 
 that capacity?" sneered Zoe, who felt a little startled 
 all the same, though in too sulky a mood to express 
 her gratitude. 
 
 "Well I've had a good try, my girl though I'm 
 not quite sure you're worth it. I'm not so sure that 
 I wouldn't have given you up before, but it's look- 
 ing after silly kids like you that saves me from becom- 
 ing a besotted animal like most of the women we see 
 at 'La Chambre Doree.' But, thank goodness, they're 
 not all as tiresome as you are, for which you ought 
 to be ashamed considering you're a lady. I suppose 
 that bears out what I've always heard: when a lady 
 falls she sinks lower than any other woman." 
 
 "Pooh," snapped Zoe, "I don't believe it. Anyhow, 
 I've lost my right to the title now." 
 
 "Here. I'm hungry," said Lydia, giving her a 
 searching glance and stopping outside a respectable 
 looking restaurant. "Let's go in and have something."
 
 290 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "I don't mind but I'm not hungry." 
 
 "Well, I am so there," retorted Lydia, pushing Zoe 
 through the door and leading her to a secluded table. 
 ' ' And whilst we 're eating you can tell me how you come 
 to be here, and why and the rest." 
 
 Zoe was hungry. She had eaten nothing since her 
 dinner the night before, and then she had merely picked 
 over her food hurriedly. And as she ate, with more 
 relish than she had felt for some time, her reserve 
 melted and she told Lydia everything. 
 
 First, Mr. Hales had called and told her she was ruin- 
 ing Roy's career and youth offering to help her to 
 regain her footing in her own world, promising to come 
 again to-day for his answer. 
 
 "Which he won't get after all!" she ended glee- 
 fully, her eager eye on the bottle of champagne Lydia 
 had ordered. 
 
 "Yes, he will leastways an equivalent your ab- 
 sence." 
 
 "But he won't know what it means. I may be going 
 back any moment. I may, if not, be knocking about 
 to tempt Roy. I may have come to Roy at the hotel. 
 He'll be in a fever of anxiety. And serve him right, 
 too, for interfering." 
 
 "H'm," ejaculated Lydia. "What does it mean, 
 really." 
 
 "Can't you guess? I'm not going to ruin Roy's ca- 
 reer I'm putting his interests before mine." She 
 said it as though she really believed it, though her eyes 
 dropped from Lydia 's to her plate. 
 
 "Rot!" exclaimed that young woman. "I'm begin- 
 ning to know you, Zoe. Therefore, I'll believe as much 
 of that tosh as I like. But we'll leave it at that. Mr. 
 Hales showed you your duty and like a noble self-sacri- 
 ficing girl you took yourself off What next? Did you 
 walk to Paris in order to save the beloved's money?"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 291 
 
 "I sha'n't tell you anything if you sneer like 
 that" 
 
 "I can make a pretty good guess, my child. You 
 started off with the intention of going to the dogs as 
 quickly as you could, to prove how unworthy you are 
 of Mr. Keith." 
 
 "No I didn't. So you're wrong. I really came up 
 to go to the English Home." 
 
 "Gosh! You're like a surprise packet, Zoe. Did 
 you mistake the Maison de Joie for that very respec- 
 table place?" 
 
 Zoe colored and looked annoyed. But Lydia was too 
 kind-hearted, too genuinely anxious to help, for her to 
 remain vexed. She had been drinking freely enough 
 to feel talkative and went on hurriedly with her story. 
 
 She really was touched by what Hales said and sud- 
 denly longed to throw off the shackles of shame. But 
 she decided to manage without Hales' help. For he 
 would only send her to a dull hole like Edgeware. She 
 had heard about this English home when she was at 
 "La Chambre Doree." It was not their fault that the 
 woman who told her about it had gone wrong. They 
 were very particular about the posts their girls applied 
 for. It was just a home for English girls where they 
 could go until they got employment, or to get advice. 
 She might get something respectable from there. As 
 interpreter in a shop, or nursery governess, or well, 
 there were dozens of things she could do. She had only 
 failed before because she had had no influential person 
 behind her. 
 
 "You had those in England," commented Lydia. "I 
 mean when Mr. Hales was looking after you." 
 
 "Yes and I could have got something if I hadn't 
 lost patience " 
 
 "And something else," teased Lydia. "Don't glare 
 like that have another drink."
 
 292 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "I don't mind if I do. It does help one to get 
 through things, doesn't it?" 
 
 "That and morphia are my best friends," laughed 
 Lydia, as she lit a cigarette. 
 
 "They're beginning to be mine," said Zoe, "though 
 last night absinthe played me a nasty trick. But I sup- 
 pose it had to be." 
 
 She sighed, sipped her wine and went on. 
 
 It appeared that she left the cottage after dinner. 
 She told old Josephine that Keith expected her, but, 
 as she didn't quite know where she would stay, her lug- 
 gage had better be taken by the carrier to the place 
 where he put up in Paris and left to be called for. 
 Then she walked to Fontainebleau station. It was a 
 lonely road and she had one or two frights. A young 
 man in a motor-car offered her a lift. She was only too 
 glad to accept it. It happened that he was going to 
 Paris. He offered to take her. She accepted quite 
 gladly. She was tired of her own company, and only 
 too pleased to have someone to speak to. He was very 
 nice rough perhaps probably a tradesman. They 
 stopped for refreshment on the way. She could eat 
 nothing. But she drank When they got to the out- 
 skirts of Paris she nearly danced with joy. She re- 
 alized how dull she must have been. Of course she 
 didn't prefer the ugly suburban streets to the lovely 
 forest, but they spelt life to her far more than trees, 
 and flowers and little blades of grass. The voice of 
 Nature reminded you too much of the days when you 
 were a silly little kid and believed in the goodness 
 of the world, yourself included, and of heaps of things 
 you wanted to forget. It was nicer to be admired than 
 to admire. Most women were like that." 
 
 When he asked her where she was going to, she hesi- 
 tated. She wondered if she would find the Home dull, 
 if they would admit her in her excited condition. And
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 293 
 
 he suggested she should stay with him. They went to 
 the Maison de Joie. Lydia was quite right. It was 
 not a nice place. Quite the worst she had ever been 
 to. And, as she got over the effects of the absinthe she 
 had drunk and realized what she had done, she had a 
 fit of weeping and depression. It made him angry. 
 Finally he left her. And she didn't want anyone to 
 see her. That was why she ran back. 
 
 Lydia was annoyed. She realized that Zoe's ardent 
 love for pleasure of any sort, her facility for feeling 
 bored as soon as she got away from the fascinations, 
 such as they were, of the life she had led at La Cham- 
 bre Doree, showed plainly enough that as she had made 
 her bed so she must lie on it. She did not really want 
 to keep on the rails. Would run off them at the very 
 first opportunity. Lydia 's own eyesi watered as she 
 looked into the girl's flower-like face and told her all 
 this. 
 
 "And where were you going to, when you saw me?" 
 she ended. 
 
 "I don't know I felt too wretched to think of any- 
 thing but getting away. I had a chance of being en- 
 gaged there, in the eafe but I was already engaged at 
 'La Chambre Doree.' I pretended I wanted to go to 
 them. I don't know how I should have got away else. 
 And iafter all, I didn't care so very much." She 
 shuddered a little and began to cry. "You see I knew 
 it was^no good my going to the Home now. This is 
 all I'm good for, after all I should always come back. 
 Something draws me, I see all that's hateful and low 
 and sordid, but I shall have to put up with that. If I 
 had means I might go right away and try again. Might 
 get in with the kind of people I used to know, and for- 
 get all this or if I got into the right sort of place 
 with nice, kind people who 're not narrow and " 
 
 Lydia burst out laughing:
 
 294 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "They'd have to be more than 'not narrow' if they 
 ever heard the truth about you. Just think back, what 
 would your mother have said if a girl with your present 
 experiences had wanted to be your friend? And your 
 mother stands for the bulk of our nation. Do you know 
 what they say in these parts? That English girls are 
 the easiest prey, because they've been brought up so 
 prudishly that they'll believe anything until it's too 
 late to save them. And it's true I'm one example, 
 though, bless me, there isn't much I don't know now 
 but I stand for the middle-class type, my father was a 
 city clerk. And you for the other. Our parents have 
 a lot to answer for. No I see you can't go back, I 
 was mad enough to think you could because I hoped 
 he'd marry you." 
 
 "There's no fear of that!" exclaimed Zoe. "He's 
 too selfish, for one thing for another, I believe he'd 
 bore me so in time that I'd have to run away, even 
 then." 
 
 Lydia looked thoughtful. As she had surmised, Zoe 
 did not leave Fontainebleau entirely for Roy's sake. 
 The poison had eaten too far into her system for her 
 to be purged of it. 
 
 "Listen," she said. "Marriage is your only way 
 back now -there's just that chance." 
 
 "Pooh! That's a rotten idea. I should want to 
 change husbands every six months. Men are awfully 
 boring after a month or two. So my only chance isn't 
 that, dear Lydia." 
 
 "Well, it isn't employment. You'd soon get kicked 
 out of that. For your past would be sure to crop 
 up to ruin you again. It's no good. You've gone too 
 far. The very ones that seem to want to help you are 
 the very ones to push you into the gutter again. They 
 must tell others about you, and that's enough. Look
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 295 
 
 at what your Mr. Hales did put you in prison almost. 
 No pleasure because you've had enough. No society, 
 because you're not yet fit to mix with decent people 
 to be trusted with the young. It's like taking every 
 drop of drink from a drunkard they want to cure every 
 scrap of food from another who ate too much the day 
 before yesterday. It's too late. I see it now you 
 can't go back to where you belong I was a fool to 
 think it." 
 
 "Good," laughed Zoe. "A short life and a merry 
 one, eh? Let's drink to it, and I'll pay. Oh, I wasn't 
 such a fool as to leave my purse behind. Hadn't I a 
 right to it? I've done with prim old tea-parties, and 
 psalm-singing Marias and parsons, and the damned lot. 
 Better an outcast amongst outcasts than a pariah 
 amongst the righteous. Hurrah! Gargon?" she beck- 
 oned the waiter and gave her order. 
 
 "Gosh! You're a nut!" laughed Lydia. "But 
 doesn't it bear out what I said? When a lady sinks 
 she goes right down to the bottom." 
 
 "A short life and a merry one!" cried Zoe, as the 
 waiter poured out the foaming wine. "Here, mon 
 vieux, drink with us for luck. And you, Monsieur?" 
 
 She turned to a man who had just sat down at the 
 next table He was a tall, lugubrious-looking student. 
 He shook his head. 
 
 "Why not?" asked Lydia. 
 
 "I've just been to the funeral of a comrade. I don't 
 feel inclined for mirth. It's that that killed him too 
 much pleasure, too much drink." 
 
 "And we, too, have been to a funeral," said Zoe. 
 "But it makes us happy!" 
 
 It was whilst she was in this reckless mood that Zoe 
 wrote to Keith. She never quite knew what she said,
 
 296 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 but she certainly gave him to understand that she was 
 tired of the forest, and told about her manner of com- 
 ing to Paris. 
 
 " That '11 prevent his wanting me to go back," she 
 commented, as she sealed the letter. Though in her 
 heart she was already hoping he would arrive post- 
 haste and insist on carrying her away; perhaps bring 
 Sir Jasper who would fall in love with her charms and 
 consent to their marriage. For, in spite of what she 
 had said to Lydia, she felt that marriage might indeed 
 be her rock of refuge and salvation. Received as Roy's 
 wife, she would be far enough removed from her old 
 haunts of pleasure never to regret them would have 
 sufficient money to indulge in all the gayeties natural 
 to her position, the varied and innocent dissipations of 
 society. 
 
 With that idea in her mind she suddenly refused 
 to go anywhere Lydia suggested. She had taken a room 
 next to her friend's and fetched her boxes in a taxi- 
 cab. Then she sat down and waited. 
 
 "What's the matter now?" asked Lydia. "This 
 morning you were drinking to a merry life, to-night you 
 look as glum as that fool of a student who wouldn't 
 drink with us " 
 
 "This morning I was drunk now I'm sober," said 
 Zoe. "And I wish I were dead!" 
 
 It was the struggle of the good left in her which 
 spoke now; as she said, she was sober and memories 
 were no longer stupefied. 
 
 Yet when Lydia had gone and she had wept her heart 
 out as she had done so often of late her mood changed 
 again. She must kill these voices in her, but how? 
 Morphia absinthe brandy it didn't matter which, so 
 long as she forgot to think of the past, to recall what 
 might have been. Roy, her last chance, wasn't coming. 
 He had thrown her over. She might just as well drown
 
 THE LUBE OP THE FLAME 297 
 
 altogether, instead of struggling feebly in the hope of 
 being saved. 
 
 The next day her head was so bad that she stayed 
 in bed. Three days later she went back to " La Chambre 
 Doree." She might just as well go there as anywhere, 
 she told Lydia, who agreed. 
 
 "Ah, quel bonheur!" ejaculated Madame. "You're 
 the very one I wanted Tell me. Have you come back 
 for good?" 
 
 "Forever, I suppose," said Zoe. 
 
 The old woman's wicked eyes danced with glee. 
 
 "Comment done? What of your milord?" 
 
 "II m'embetait a mourir!" ejaculated Zoe, with an 
 expressive gesture. "But all the same, I sign no con- 
 tract." 
 
 "Nenni, ma mie," laughed Madame. "But you'll do 
 what I want?" 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "A new item for the programme. An allegorical car. 
 It will go round the room, see you? The Maison de 
 Joie has one" Zoe shuddered. She had seen it. "But 
 mine will be better," said the old hag, quick to notice 
 the girl's disgust. "Only the prettiest and youngest 
 girls. God knows what old creatures they have, or 
 what it's meant to be. Aphrodite rising from the Sea 
 is my idea. The shell, with Aphrodite rising gradually, 
 in the middle of the car, and nymphs around." 
 
 "You want me to be a nymph?" asked Zoe, her mind 
 circling back to those far-off days when she had so 
 longed to be seen in tights. 
 
 "Nenni. I want you for Aphrodite. Only yester- 
 day I said what a pity we have not Zoe with her fig- 
 ure, her hair, her well, what do you think?" 
 
 "I may as well do that as anything," said Zoe care- 
 lessly. "Let's drink to the success of the car, ma 
 vieille!"
 
 298 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 After all, it wasn't much worse than dancing as Dar- 
 dino did, as she had done. Flesh silk tights, billowy 
 clouds of chiffon, her long hair loose. Her eyes spar- 
 kled at the thought. There would be plenty of peo- 
 ple to see how nice she looked this time. Especially 
 as the car was to stop during its progress and she was 
 to execute a dance sing a song in a word, be as much 
 in the limelight as she had ever longed to be. Her 
 heart leapt. This might lead to the legitimate stage 
 it might! 
 
 She forgot all about Roy in her excitement during 
 the next few days whilst the arrangements for the car 
 were being made. She surprised Lydia by her delight 
 in what would only be a very tawdry affair, not to say 
 a shamelessly indecent one. 
 
 "Give it up," she said. "You'll hate yourself 
 after" 
 
 "Why should I? People look at my face my figure 
 is just as good. If I were an artist's model 
 
 "That's different. If you want to appear 'au 
 naturel' before the eyes of the public go to an artist 
 and sit for a picture " 
 
 "I'll do both," said Zoe playfully. "That's quite 
 an idea. Why didn't you think of that before? You 
 don't want references for studios what a pity I hadn't 
 suggested it to Mr. Hales!" 
 
 Some hours later, when La Chambre Doree was al- 
 most full, Lydia, who was sipping wine with a young 
 soldier, saw Roy Keith suddenly appear at the next 
 table. He was accompanied by an older man, whom 
 she supposed was Mr. Hales. They were looking anx- 
 iously round the room. Of course she knew they 
 wanted Zoe, and when Keith's eyes met hers, with a 
 start of recognition, she leaned towards him, saying: 
 
 "What a stranger you are, Mr. Keith! I believe 
 you'd forgotten me."
 
 THE LUEE OF THE FLAME 299 
 
 "I didn't see you at first. I'm jolly glad to, though. 
 I daresay you guess why I'm here?" 
 
 "Zoe?" 
 
 "Yes my friend, Mr. Hales, and I have just been 
 to her lodgings. They said she was here but I don't 
 see her." 
 
 "She'll be here presently," said Lydia. "But I 
 don't think you'll get her to speak to you, Mr. Keith. 
 She isn't in the right moon for it. She's discovered 
 that the world's a very horrible place for moneyless, 
 friendless girls like her she's very bitter. I hardly 
 understand her myself. I'm sure you don't nor Mr. 
 Hales." 
 
 "No " assented Hales, "I'm afraid I've made many 
 mistakes regarding Zoe. This last has been a terrible 
 lesson. I went to her thinking I was acting for the 
 best but when I returned next day and found her 
 gone, no clew at the station, nor where the carrier had 
 left her luggage, I couldn't forgive myself I '" 
 
 "It would have happened anyhow," said Lydia. 
 "She was bored." 
 
 "Bored!" ejaculated Roy. 
 
 "Yes, bored That's at the bottom of most of her 
 wrongdoing. That, and ignorance. You're a parson, 
 Mr. Hales, I understand. Well, then, if you really 
 want to do good, to crush a crying evil in our land 
 preach the abolition of false prudery. You'll save hun- 
 dreds of young girls from a fate like Zoe's. You can't 
 save her now." 
 
 "Why not? Surely, surely" 
 
 "You're a man of the world eo you need no telling. 
 Even if Mr. Keith has come to take her away and marry 
 her, it's too late. Zoe is lost she's chained body and 
 soul to the lure of this sort of life You doubt me? 
 Wait and see. I don't think you'll believe you can 
 do her any good then."
 
 300 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "But," stammered Roy "she loved me " 
 
 "Do you mean to marry her, Mr. Keith?" 
 
 "N-o I can't do that but " 
 
 "And all you want to offer her now is what?" 
 
 "Mr. Hales can find her a home." 
 
 "Where she'd be a fish out of water pointed at 
 suspected [watched no, Zoe's not for that. I tried to 
 save her from this. You may look astonished. But I'm 
 not like Zoe, though my folks are probably just as trou- 
 bled about me but, look " 
 
 A huge car drawn by a couple of half-starved horses 
 had appeared through the folding doors at the end 
 of the room. Roy's face went white to the lips as he 
 looked. As for Hales, he sank back on his chair a 
 prey to intense remorse and misery. 
 
 For, as Lydia had expected, it was a revolting ex- 
 hibition though Zoe stood there in the center looking 
 like a beautiful pink marble statue. Revolting, because 
 of the positions of the nymphs, their painted faces, their 
 amused laughter as the audience flung their jokes and 
 remarks first at one and then at the other. 
 
 As for Zoe, her eyes had fallen on the little group 
 round Lydia 's table and a hot blush suffused her from 
 head to foot. The next moment, however, she had 
 joined in the laughter and, skipping lightly out of her 
 shell, began to dance. She had never thrown such 
 abandon into her dancing before such affrontery and 
 wickedness. 
 
 Was Hales pleased with her for shocking Keith, she 
 wondered, as she sent her long glances towards the 
 friends. Didn't he see she was keeping her promise to 
 set him free or would he like more? She felt a dif- 
 ferent person to Zoe Dereham even to the Zoe of lat- 
 ter days. It was as though a thousand devils pos- 
 sessed her, and when the audience applauded her up- 
 roariously she blew them kisses and smiled alluringly.
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 301 
 
 "Before I sing my song," she announced, "I'll tell 
 you a story about two lovers in a forest. Oh, la 
 la, it's enough to make you yawn to hear about those 
 two and all they did and said. But it's true, and as 
 dull as truth is generally said to be. Then because he 
 was bored, although he said he adored her, he must go 
 to Paris to see his uncle, shall we say? It sounds bet- 
 ter, hein? And he left his forlorn love all alone in 
 her casket, in the heart of the big forest. For she's 
 mine, he said no one else shall look at her, she wants 
 no one but me but she got bored, too, and what do 
 you think, hein? She ran off to see her aunt, shall 
 we say? It sounds better, n'est-ce pas?" 
 
 She bowed smilingly to the audience, and started her 
 song. But her quick eyes had seen Roy's angry face as 
 he turned to Hales first, and then rose and elbowed his 
 way through the dense crowd. With a wicked smile 
 she blew him a kiss, as he glared up at her from the 
 door. 
 
 "You see," said Lydia, turning to Hales who had 
 not moved. "She isn't in the mood to listen to any- 
 one. I daresay she's suffering our hearts don't 
 harden entirely all at once. But she insulted him pur- 
 posely. ' ' 
 
 "All the same, I must speak to her for my own sat- 
 isfaction. Can you manage it presently?" 
 
 "When she's changed she shall come to you but I'm 
 sure it's no good." 
 
 She rose and followed the procession as it wended its 
 way back to the large doors. 
 
 A few minutes later she came back with Zoe in an 
 elaborate evening gown, her bright eyes like diamonds, 
 her face full of determination. 
 
 "Well," she asked. "How did you like the show? 
 Grand, wasn't it? I'm sorry Roy didn't wait for the 
 end."
 
 302 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "Zoe, is it no good asking you to give it up to " 
 
 "Do you realize I'm earning good money " 
 
 "Bad money, my child. Money that will bring 
 you" 
 
 "Oh, stop that. I don't want cant. What right 
 have you to interfere? Haven't you done enough harm 
 yes, from the very first you've done it. You began 
 at Sainte Croix and " 
 
 "That being so, let me make amends. Give up this 
 life altogether and " 
 
 "Marry you, perhaps?" she sneered. 
 
 He glanced at her reproachfully. 
 
 "If you had an assured income which would enable 
 you to do as you wish, would you give this life up for 
 good?" 
 
 She hesitated. Her eyes softened for a second, 
 searched his face and hardened. 
 
 "No " she said "It's no good my saying yes. For 
 I shouldn't keep my word. I can't give up this life 
 it would drag me back from the end of the world. 
 I loathe what's bad in it, but I'm tied to it forever 
 so there. And if you really want to be kind to me, 
 you'll leave me alone good-by." 
 
 She turned away quickly and walked up the room. 
 Her face was wreathed in smiles, but her heart was 
 like lead within her.
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV 
 
 HOW much the chronicler of Zoe's story had hoped 
 against hope that, in the records given him, he 
 would find her better self prevailed at the end, he hardly 
 knew until the moment of disillusion came. 
 
 In fiction such a heroine would have been snatched 
 from the jaws of worse than death, and ended as most 
 heroines do. But, alas ! Such was not Zoe 's case. Nor 
 is it that of most of the women who go gayly down the 
 broad path of pleasure, forgetting that, 
 
 "Evil is wrought for want of thought, 
 As well as want of heart." 
 
 Such a pitiful story! So many lost opportunities, so 
 much misery, just for the lack of a little knowledge and 
 loving guidance. 
 
 Zoe was a great deal more attractive, and lovable, 
 than many of the sweet English girls who go out into 
 the battle line and conquer. But, although in real life 
 virtue is not always rewarded and the guilty often 
 prosper, circumstances overwhelmed her relentlessly, 
 sweeping her into the vortex of sin, misery, and regret, 
 until what good was in her had been swamped and 
 practically destroyed. 
 
 Although Hales never quite forgave himself for not 
 managing better at Fontainebleau, it is more than prob- 
 able that she would have gone away just the same. 
 There is plenty of truth in the old adage that Satan 
 finds plenty of work to do for idle hands. 
 
 Yet, changeable as ever she saw Hales leave the 
 cafe with reluctance. She longed to spring after him 
 and beg him to take her away anywhere but here, into 
 
 303
 
 304 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 a convent if he liked. But the door had hardly closed 
 behind him when she was laughing immoderately, and 
 clicking glasses with a couple of rowdy students. 
 
 "A short life and a merry one!" she chanted, her 
 voice rising above theirs. She avoided Lydia entirely 
 that night. In fact, the friendship between the two was 
 strained. For the sight of Lydia who had known so 
 much about her past, became suddenly distasteful to 
 Zoe, who wanted to forget everything and drank heav- 
 ily to that end. Lydia 's own affairs were troubling her 
 just then, and, low as she had sunk herself, she was 
 a little disgusted to see how easily Zoe went the pace. 
 Her dances were enough to make many of the onlookers 
 blush. Her songs, her glad-eye smiles, her ready jests, 
 bore no trace of compunction or shame. She had no 
 sense of modesty left. Though she still looked like a 
 flower, she had become a rank weed, as degraded as the 
 vilest woman there. And the depths to which such 
 women can go are fathomless. 
 
 Lydia was unable to watch her as she had done, and 
 did not realize that the Zoe she had learnt to love had 
 given place to a half-demented girl who was so under 
 the influence of drugs and alcohol that she neither knew 
 nor cared what she did. And she emerged hardened 
 and embittered from that period of nightmare. But 
 traces of her suffering lurked in her eyes, were writ- 
 ten round her mouth. She was glad to hear that Lydia 
 was going away, and hoped, with all her heart, that 
 she would never again see anyone she had known in 
 the old life. 
 
 She never heard what Roy had said about her flight, 
 never knew his object in coming to the cafe. She had 
 disgusted him as she intended doing. She supposed 
 she had killed his love. She heard once or twice from 
 Hales, begging her to reconsider her decision, and, al- 
 though she wept over the letters as she read them, in-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 305 
 
 variably ended up in drinking to the short and merry 
 life she was convinced she preferred, and wondering 
 how many new conquests she would make that night. 
 
 About two years later, Hales, passing through Paris 
 for his annual holiday, sought her out to again make 
 his offer of an assured income, and untrammeled free- 
 dom, if she would leave the life she was leading. Al- 
 though she was no longer performing at La Chambre 
 Doree, owing to recent illness, he found her at another 
 well-known haunt in Montmartre. He was shocked at 
 the change in her, and asked her anxiously if she 
 still felt ill. 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. 
 
 "Why? Do I look so passee? If so, it's a bad look- 
 out for me. But you needn't worry. I have been ill 
 Never mind what it was, it's only what one has to ex- 
 pect here: 
 
 * Apres le plaisir la peine, 
 Apres la peine. Eh bien, la Seine!' 
 
 The last words are mine. The real ones are, Apres la 
 piene, la vertu' But of course I'm not such a fool as 
 to believe that. If Roy had married me, it would have 
 been true though I'm jolly thankful he didn't. He's 
 a bit of stick, our beau gargon, hein. Tell me, what's 
 become of him?" 
 
 Roy was married. To the "bloated" grocer's daugh- 
 ter? Yes. They were very happy. "Was she pretty? 
 Had she a lovely figure? Hales shook his head as his 
 eyes ran over the eager face uplifted to his. She was 
 short and stout and very red 
 1 ' Splendid ! ' ' cried Zoe. " I'm glad, I 'm glad. ' ' 
 Hales told that they had a son. In fact, Keith was 
 behaving exactly as Sir Jasper had wished. He was 
 proud of his heir and most generous to him.
 
 306 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 "Poor old Roy," she said. "It's a good thing I gave 
 him up. But he soon forgot me, didn't he? Let's 
 drink to the kid 's health. ' ' 
 
 Hales pulled her glass towards him and looked into 
 her eyes. She started back, unflinchingly, then, color- 
 ing a little, pushed his hand away and snatched it 
 back. 
 
 "It's no good, mon vieux! I'm not one of the souls 
 you can save. Charity begins at home, so go back to 
 your slums. I'm quite happy, thank you. Happier 
 than if I'd stayed at Edgeware or gone on teaching 
 Fanny Broome-Taylors all my life. I know a thing or 
 two, see? My Alphonse is good enough when he's so- 
 ber, when he isn't well, all women have to put up 
 with something from their men. Ore nom de nom! 
 Roy gave me boredom enough Alphonse knocks me 
 about and I scratch back. Roy probably preaches and 
 the grocer's daughter nags. Or he acts just as cru- 
 elly by neglecting her, or trotting after other women. 
 Give him my love, and ah, here's Alphonse. Come, 
 and be introduced." 
 
 Hales bowed gravely to the collarless, unshaven man 
 with fiery eyes and a murderous mile. That Zoe should 
 have sunk to this ! 
 
 "Jules succeeded Roy, and Silvio succeeded Jules, un- 
 til Pierre arrived, ' ' went on Zoe, her eyes gleaming with 
 wicked mirth. "Then Alphonse punched his head, and 
 as the prize goes to the winner, here we are ! If any- 
 one looks at me Alphonse will willingly repeat the per- 
 formance, eh, cheri?" 
 
 Alphonse nodded, and glared at Hales, who, after a 
 somewhat one-sided conversation, for the man was too 
 sulky to say much, got up and went, his heart full of 
 a great pity for which he saw no relief. 
 
 Zoe's laugh followed him to the door. But there 
 were more tears than mirth in the sound, and had he
 
 307 
 
 known she really laughed at Alphonse, who swung 
 away with an angry threat. 
 
 Then suddenly Zoe started up, her face freezing into 
 gravity. For her eyes had fallen on the frightened 
 face of a young girl, who sat crouching in her corner, 
 her big eyes wandering miserably around the crowded 
 room. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" asked Zoe in English, 
 as she came up to her and sat down. For she had 
 guessed the child's nationality. "Don't you know this 
 is a bad place, in the worst part of Paris. Hush, don't 
 cry tell me quickly and I'll help you." 
 
 "It's no good. I can't get away. Madame has my 
 money and now I couldn't I couldn't face them at 
 home. ' ' 
 
 "That's nothing to what you'll have to face if you 
 stay. Look at me I was like you once now I'm, 
 what you'll be if you stay. I can't get away because 
 part of me doesn't want to. But you how did you 
 come at all?" 
 
 The girl poured out a story of kidnapping and trick- 
 ery, such as Zoe had heard of from similar victims. 
 And her heart yearned over the girl who had so sud- 
 denly touched what good was left in her. If only Hales 
 had stayed! If only she could get him to come back. 
 
 "I'm going to save you," she said, "if you behave 
 sensibly. Wait here until I come back. If Madame 
 tells you to move about, and speak to anyone, do so for 
 all you're worth, but don't leave the room promise " 
 
 "If I dare" 
 
 "You must. It's a matter of your life or death, 
 though your body may live on for years. God knows 
 I 'm not exaggerating ! ' ' 
 
 She hurried out into the street. Only a few minutes 
 had passed since Hales left, but the probabilities were 
 that she would never catch him up. But as she turned
 
 308 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 into the Place Pigalle, she saw his tall figure halting on 
 the curb and made a dart for him. 
 
 "Mr. Hales," she panted " Stop !" 
 
 He heard her at once and turned, his face radiant 
 with surprise: 
 
 ' ' Zoe ! Ah, my dear child. ' ' 
 
 ''Keep that nonsense for someone who deserves it," 
 she retorted. "I'm not a repentant sheep but I've 
 found one for your flock. Get that taxi and come. I'll 
 tell you as we go. The child's quite young, wretched, 
 heart-broken. You'll save her she isn't as depraved 
 as I was." 
 
 She jumped into the vehicle as she spoke, giving 
 directions for the man to stop some yards from the 
 cafe, and then she hurriedly told what she knew, sug- 
 gesting Hales should take the girl to the English Home 
 and send the police next day for her things. 
 
 "Of course I may be killed if they suspect me but 
 luckily I'm such a bad lot that they'll suspect every- 
 one else but me. You're to come back and talk to the 
 girl. Then you must suggest taking her out look 
 wicked for once, O saint. And, thank goodness, you 
 aren't dressed in parson's clothes or they'd smell a 
 rat! here we are." 
 
 He followed her into the room. 
 
 "There she is," she whispered "over there. Only 
 don 't go yet. Sit down with me again, and we '11 beckon 
 her. Then I'll go. And a thousand thanks. Though 
 the life holds me, I don't want that kid victimized, if 
 we can prevent it." 
 
 Her plan worked so easily that ten minutes later 
 Hales and the girl had left the room and Madame was 
 telling Zoe excitedly that the child was the most pig- 
 headed little wretch she had ever had anything to do 
 with but, thanks to Zoe's friend, she had, at last, come 
 to her senses.
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 309 
 
 "Yes, you may be sure of that! He's a gay dog, 
 my friend!" laughed Zoe, a dull ache in her heart. 
 "Let's drink to her success!" 
 
 But Alphonse was in a fury of jealousy with Zoe 
 for talking to Hales again, and it was with a blackened 
 eye and a bruised body that she crept out of her sordid 
 lodgings, early the next morning, determined to have 
 nothing more to do with him. At the same time the 
 dull ache in her heart had given way to a feeling of 
 relief not unmixed with joy. For the little English 
 girl's escape had not yet been discovered and she felt 
 sure that Hales would do his best for her. 
 
 She wandered down to the Embankment and looked 
 longingly at the Seine. How tired she was. How rest- 
 ful she would be there. And yet the thought of the 
 child she had saved held her back. What if she tried 
 to save others to send word into the thoughtless world 
 of the poor children she saw so constantly brought 
 into this one of vice and sin. For herself there was 
 no other place, but for these others trapped and con- 
 demned against their will could nothing be done for 
 them? 
 
 She turned slowly back to the smiling City, so gay, 
 so joyously light-hearted, yet, like a beautiful white 
 rose with a canker in its heart, indifferent to the sore 
 within her midst. 
 
 She had not gone far when she realized how hungry 
 she was, and remembered she had not touched food for 
 hours. She paused, wondering where she should go to, 
 and at that moment a motor stopped beside her, and a 
 handsome, dark-eyed, brown-skinned man looked down 
 at her. 
 
 ' ' Tiens, voila Zoe ! " he chanted, his very red lips curl- 
 ing back from his white teeth, which, with a fierce-look- 
 ing mustache, gave him a somewhat wolfish expression. 
 
 "Gaston!" she ejaculated, taking in his neat clothes,
 
 310 . THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 
 
 the splendid motor-car. "Have you come into a for- 
 tune, mon gars?" 
 
 "If I say yes, ma belle, will you help me to spend 
 it?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "I asked you long ago, when you had a fine milord 
 hanging about you when you were less moth-eaten 
 than you seem now. Who 's the beast who 's been knock- 
 ing my beauty about? But I know you won't tell. 
 "Women are such fools, and yet fascinating devils when 
 they're like you, Zoe. Are you coming? I'm off to 
 London in the morning, to-night if possible. Will you 
 come?" 
 
 She hesitated. She had meant never to see London 
 again. And yet the very sound of its name pulled at 
 her heart-strings. Moreover, Gaston looked prosperous, 
 and was generous when he had money. She had done 
 with Alphonse. It was a fag looking round for fresh 
 fields to conquer. 
 
 "I'm in a hurry," he exclaimed, glancing about anx- 
 iously. "I've borrowed this car without permission, 
 and " he winked expressively. 
 
 "Borrowed? Oh la, la, Gaston! It used to be jew- 
 elry! Will it get to aeroplanes in time? N'importe! 
 'I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning!' ' 
 
 She jumped in beside him with a laugh. He hugged 
 her like a bear, quite indifferent to the amusement of 
 the passersby. 
 
 "Montmartre first," she said, as she extricated her- 
 self and put her hat straight. "All I possess is 
 there" 
 
 "Except your heart!" he smirked. 
 
 "My heart! Oh, as for that, I make you a present 
 of what's left of it. There isn't much, so you needn't 
 look so pleased. But you've waited a long time for 
 me, O faithful one and such is fate, that, a minute
 
 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 311 
 
 or two later you might have been too late. But for you 
 . it would have been f-i-fi; n-i-ni with poor Zoe. " 
 i She said it really to see the look of consternation on 
 his face, to feel him wiggle closer to her as though 
 to make sure she was really there. For she knew quite 
 well that she had turned her back on the river before 
 he appeared on the scene. 
 
 And, just as she lied for no apparent reason, so 
 vanished all thought of the girls she had meant to 
 help all longing to end her life. 
 
 She was once more the careless butterfly her wings 
 a little dashed by the storms she had come through, 
 but the same light-hearted creature living from day to 
 day; asking for nothing but warmth and sunshine. 
 
 The pity of it was, that, almost from that moment, 
 her life became drabber, more wretched. For she dis- 
 covered that Gaston was a hunted man, fleeing from 
 the law. She knew that he had always been well sup- 
 plied with money and that it came to him far more 
 easily than by the sweat of his brow or the toil of 
 his long-fingered white hands. But that was the case 
 with so many of her admirers that she had ceased to 
 let it trouble her, and readily condoned, since it meant 
 plenty in the land. For the thief is seldom mean. He 
 is often a spendthrift, ready to load his sweetheart with 
 presents, to squander the gold, he risked his life to get, 
 on mere excitement and drink. She was, however, hor- 
 rified by the discovery that he was one of the members 
 of that notorious band of bandits, which had been ter- 
 rorizing France during the last year or so. But she 
 only learnt the truth the day after they reached Lon- 
 don when an article in a newspaper roused her suspi- 
 cions. It told of the murder of an old man, whose 
 assassins had audaciously escaped in his motor-car which 
 had not yet been traced. A stray word or two had con-
 
 312 THE LURE OP THE FLAME 
 
 firmed her fears, and, added to her horror, was her 
 feeling of helplessness. In Paris, she might have left 
 him, despite his awful threats. But in London, where 
 she was afraid of meeting people she had known, it 
 seemed impossible. Besides, he had money and she 
 had none. 
 
 He reminded her of that, after he had described the 
 murder in all its grewsomeness. He was as proud of 
 his share in it as though he had done something noble; 
 now she had guessed so much, he enjoyed telling about 
 it and the "audacious escape" in the car, which he had 
 sold quite easily in Paris. The other man had left him 
 at a railway station and flown to Madrid. They had 
 covered up their traces so well that he had no fear of 
 detection. She was the only one who knew and he 
 could silence her at any moment if he wished. 
 
 He looked very terrible as he spoke and her heart 
 beat with fear, although she laughed and ran her fin- 
 gers through his dark hair, saying that there was no 
 danger of her betraying him why should shef 
 
 "For the chief reason that you would kill the goose 
 which lays the golden eggs, ma belle," he laughed, kiss- 
 ing her so fiercely that she paled and thought of the 
 poor dead man. And then with sudden impulse he 
 suggested taking her out to buy a hat and was there 
 anything else she wanted? He was in the mood to 
 spend, she would do well to take advantage of it. 
 
 They had taken rooms in a tall old house in Soho. 
 They were tawdry and not over-clean, but in all Lon- 
 don it was the quarter where they would feel most at 
 home, though it lacked the joie de vivre. Of course 
 Zoe, who loved comfort like a cat, would have liked 
 nothing better than an expensive hotel, but not so Gas- 
 ton. He was Bohemian in every fiber and the conven- 
 tionalities of hotel life irked and irritated him. What 
 did he care if the rooms were mean, the cafes tawdry
 
 THE LUKE OF THE FLAME 313 
 
 he had been used to them all his life money was use- 
 ful for other things. You could enjoy everything and 
 go everywhere like the richest on the earth, if you didn 't 
 mind burrowing into holes at night. Besides, his busi- 
 ness kept him there, 
 
 "What business?" asked Zoe, laughingly. 
 
 "The business that must keep us," he replied mys- 
 teriously. "My money won't last forever some of it 
 I cannot touch just now. I must make more, and you 
 are just the one to help me." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 He consulted a letter he held in his hand. 
 
 "I have to meet the daughter of a rich friend at Vic- 
 toria. She's coming from Paris to go to school in the 
 North. Will you do that for me?" 
 
 "What am I to do? Put her in another train, or " 
 
 "Meet me at King's Cross. I'll take her on at once. 
 It's a bore, but one must do something for one's 
 friends. I may be glad of his help some day. Here's 
 her description" he handed her a slip of paper. 
 "Don't look like that." 
 
 It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she wasn't 
 fit to speak to such a child that he wasn't. But the 
 look in his eyes puzzled her. Could he be going to 
 murder the child? Or or 
 
 The little frightened girl, she had flung into Hales* 
 arms so unceremoniously, came to her mind. 
 
 "Very well I'll meet you as you say. What time? 
 All right. I'll be there and the girl with me, you 
 bet!" 
 
 She swung front the room, her heart swelling with 
 indignation. Now she knew why fate had brought her 
 to him; and recalled her resolution made the morning 
 they had met. She had forgotten all about it, until 
 now. Could he be that vile thing they called a "pro- 
 curer," a trafficker of White Slaves?
 
 314 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Punctually to the minute Zoe arrived at King's Cross, 
 and found Gaston awaiting her near the entrance. He 
 came to meet her with a face as black as thunder, and 
 his eyes scanned hers incredulously when she explained 
 that the girl had not turned up. 
 
 "Nom de Dieu de Dieu!" he murmured angrily. "If 
 you lie, 111 kill you." 
 
 She met his eyes with calm innocence. "Why?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "Why? Because we shall have all this bother and 
 waste of time again, that's why ." 
 
 "Perhaps she's changed her mind and isn't coming 
 at all," smiled Zoe. 
 
 But he made no reply, as he walked sulkily out of 
 the station and hailed a taxicab. She knew by his man- 
 ner, and his rage, that she had not been mistaken, nor 
 done anything but good by handing the girl over to the 
 station representative of the National Vigilance Society. 
 But, oh, what a sickening time she had had ! How tired 
 she was of acting guardian angel to a silly weeping child. 
 It was like being in a church all day she only wished 
 she could go somewhere and forget it all. She felt 
 quite grateful to Gaston whom she had so willfully 
 deceived when he stopped the cab outside a well-known 
 public house, saying she deserved a drink for under- 
 taking such a thankless task, and he, too, for his fruit- 
 less wait. But he eyed her narrowly as she sipped the 
 sweet and nasty champagne he ordered, filling her glass 
 again and again, but taking very little himself. Pres- 
 ently she noticed that, and sprang to her feet exclaim- 
 ing she had had enough. He followed, reminding her 
 that she had forgotten her cognac; wouldn't she go 
 back and have some or at any rate some more wine. 
 She shook her head, but a dull resentment crept up in 
 her heart against herself for doing things which must 
 put her on her guard. After all, why should
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 315 
 
 she trouble about others? Had anyone done so for 
 her? 
 
 But she resisted temptation sufficiently during the 
 next few days, to keep her secret, although Gaston 
 watched her carefully and did his best to make her 
 drunk. Fear alone made her abstain. The thought of 
 those long white fingers at her throat haunted her 
 dreams, and, more than once, she started up in a cold 
 perspiration, crying loudly for help, to snuggle down 
 a minute later thankful that Gaston was not there to 
 hear or surely he must have guessed she had something 
 on her mind. 
 
 Then she began to wonder why Gaston was not there, 
 since it was generally in the early hours of the morn- 
 ing that this nightmare awakened her. And once it 
 seemed as though the cry she uttered was prolonged 
 by another voice, followed by loud screaming. She was 
 so sure of it that she pattered barefooted across the 
 room, and opened her door. 
 
 Yes there was someone screaming in the house and 
 then voices, Gaston 's for one. She recalled the murder 
 he had described with such gusto, and flew back teeth 
 chattering loudly to the safe refuge of her bed. A 
 moment later and a door below opened, the stairs 
 creaked and Gaston appeared. Zoe, quivering beneath 
 the clothes, pictured his face, the probable state of his 
 hands the hands of a murderer and was afraid to 
 breathe. 
 
 She did not sleep again that night, and, although she 
 did her best to appear indifferent throughout the day, 
 she avoided him as much as possible, fearing that he 
 might notice her distress and question her. 
 
 What had he done? She was almost thankful to 
 hear the mysterious sounds again the next night, and 
 the next. But she could not question Madame Castano, 
 the old Italian lodging-house keeper, for she was hand
 
 316 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 in glove with Gaston. She determined to watch and 
 find out for herself. 
 
 Meanwhile her looks were going and she grew thin- 
 ner every day. Though barely twenty-one, she looked 
 about thirty, and noticed with despair that men often 
 passed her by without looking at her, while Gaston 
 jeered at her face and figure. It was evident that 
 he would soon grow tired of her was so, already, per- 
 haps. He would not cast her aside, nor suffer her to 
 go, because of what she knew, but wasn't he capable 
 of doing worse ? The gnawing horror in her heart grew 
 and grew, showing through her forced gayety and at- 
 tempts to recapture him. 
 
 At last she discovered what was happening in the room 
 of mystery what happened in various others up and 
 down the steep flights of stairs. She knew for what 
 purpose the house was made to look as attractive as 
 possible on the ground floor, why Madame went out so 
 beautifully dressed at times, although she Hooked so 
 slovenly indoors. She realized that they had tried to 
 make a tool of her, would gradually had she done 
 what Gaston wished have initiated her into their plans. 
 She shuddered at the thought, wondering how long they 
 would leave her alone, how long she would be able 
 to resist them. But she would, she would! It mat- 
 tered little what she did with her own soul, but, for 
 the sake of the girl she might have been, of the mother 
 she so rarely remembered, she would not help to send 
 others to perdition. 
 
 One night the cries were so pitiful that she sprang 
 out of bed, and without realizing the danger she ran, 
 or waiting to put anything extra on, pattered quickly 
 down the stairs to the door she had tried to open more 
 than once, always to find it locked. 
 
 She had just reached the landing when the cries
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 317 
 
 ceased, and she craned eagerly towards the door, when 
 it was flung open and Gaston came out, closely followed 
 by Madame Castano. 
 
 He stopped with an oath as his eyes fell on Zoe's 
 shrinking figure. She had seen him enraged, more than 
 once, but never quite like this, as though about to spring 
 on her and tear her to pieces with his strong teeth, stab 
 her to death with his eyes which looked like drawn 
 swords. 
 
 "You!" he choked, seizing her by the shoulders. 
 "So you spy on me, do you? You lied then, the other 
 day? I knew it! I knew you were a traitor. But I 
 was waiting, for my revenge. Now I have it I have 
 it I have it" 
 
 He shook her violently until her teeth chattered and 
 her breath came sobbingly between them. Madame 
 Castano seized his arm and he loosened her so suddenly 
 that she staggered back against the wall, a frail little 
 figure in her flimsy nightgown, her long hair flowing. 
 Standing beside him Madame Castano watched her with 
 gloating eyes. Through the open door behind them she 
 caught sight of a girl's startled face. And, somehow, 
 the sight of it gave her courage. The faint voice of 
 good, the fearless blood of her ancestors, stirred within 
 her and, throwing back her head defiantly, she ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Yes, I deceived you and I'm glad! For I saved 
 one girl from your clutches. And I'll save more if I 
 can. For I know what you are now. I know what this 
 house is And I mean to tell every girl in it, that in 
 the next street is a house with a blue lamp." 
 
 She had raised her voice, as though bent on its reach- 
 ing the ears of all around, but Madame was protesting 
 in high, shrill tones whilst he swore angrily, threaten- 
 ing to kill her if she did not stop.
 
 318 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 "I won't," she cried. "If they want help, it's open 
 day and night the house with the blue lamp in 
 the" 
 
 His long fingers were on her throat. She closed her 
 eyes. She knew this had to come. She had dreamt of 
 it so often that the reality seemed welcome. 
 
 Welcome ! Life which was so horrible held no charms 
 for her. She was tired and growing ugly nearing the 
 gutter hour by hour. 
 
 Her breath came short and sharp. It stopped. She 
 struggled desperately. Dying was terrible. Once be- 
 fore she had felt these cold waters sucking her down. 
 When? 
 
 Then suddenly she was lifted up and sent hurtling 
 through the air. Voices fell on her ears. Madame was 
 bending over her. She had fallen against the lintel 
 of the door. Blood was oozing from her cut temple. 
 
 "Are you mad, Gaston?" muttered the old woman. 
 "Do you want to kill?" 
 
 "I meant to. Dead men tell no tales," he replied sul- 
 lenly, looking down into Zoe's wide-open eyes as she 
 prayed almost eagerly for him to complete the task. 
 
 "I want no murders here," resumed Madame. "It's 
 too dangerous for you also. Go down and have a co- 
 gnac. You'll feel different then. I'll see to the girl." 
 
 With a shudder, Zoe closed her eyes. When she 
 opened them again she was lying on her own bed and 
 daylight flooded the room. She started up wonder- 
 ingly; but sank back with a little moan. How her 
 head ached! A young woman, whom she remembered 
 meeting on the stairs, came to the bedside. She smiled 
 pleasantly. 
 
 "Where's Gaston?" asked Zoe. 
 
 "Gone. You needn't fear him, the brute! He 
 cleared off this morning." 
 
 "Gone! For good. And and left me!"
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 319 
 
 "Never you mind that! I've told Madame I'd look 
 after you. I'm Nell the Fascinator. Everybody knows 
 me. I took a fancy to you the first day. And, by Gum, 
 I liked the way you stood up to him and told the poor 
 girl what to do. If we all had that pluck people like 
 him, and that old hag, wouldn't stand any chance " 
 
 But Zoe was crying weakly. She had wanted to die. 
 The disappointment of finding herself in the dingy 
 room, overwhelmed her with misery. 
 
 It was about five o'clock that afternoon, when Dr. 
 Burley let himself into his hall and picked up the 
 engagement slate. 
 
 "Please go at once to a dying woman, 50, Cash 
 Street," he read. "H'm, I wonder if she's dying. 
 Christian, what about this message, when did it come?" 
 
 A man-servant came hurriedly to his call. It was an 
 urgent case. The woman was really dying. She had 
 had an accident, they said. The message came at three 
 o'clock. But wouldn't the doctor have tea first? It 
 only had to be made. The tray was ready. 
 
 "No no two hours may have made a difference, 
 Christian. She may be dead I'll go at once." 
 
 He stepped back into the dingy street. He lived in 
 a slum, having elected to spend his life amongst the 
 poor who are so often left to the mercy of indifferent 
 healers. And, as he went his way to Cash Street, whose 
 unsavory reputation he knew so well, he wondered 
 what manner of woman he was about to see. Certainly 
 an outcast some unfortunate who had been mixed up 
 in a drunken brawl. He sighed heavily. "When w T ould 
 the world awaken to the sufferings of these unhappy 
 creatures ? 
 
 He was surprised when he was shown into Zoe 's room, 
 for the face he looked upon was so different to that 
 he had pictured. Despite the ravages wrought by drink,
 
 320 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 and the life she had led, he saw she was still beautiful, 
 still refined and very young. Who was she? 
 
 None could tell. It was Nell the Fascinator who, re- 
 membering what he had done for her in a severe ill- 
 ness, had sent for him. But she said very little. In 
 fact, it was some time before he could find out the truth 
 about the cut brow. Nell would say nothing about it 
 until he had assured her that it had not caused Zoe's 
 collapse. That was due to a mixture of things. Shock, 
 drink, the life she had led. Her whole system was 
 ruined. She had probably lost the desire to live. 
 
 ' ' She wasn 't meant for this, Doctor, ' ' said Nell sadly. 
 
 "You none of you are, Nell if it comes to that." 
 
 "Perhaps not. How's a poor girl to live, though if 
 she can't get work or enough wages to keep her body 
 and soul together? "Whilst the world is, as it is " 
 
 "Ah, there you are, my friend. Whilst the world 
 refuses to hear keeps doors and windows shut, shuns 
 light and air as long as the sheltered women close 
 their ears, to stories such as this poor girl could tell 
 or refuse to warn their young so long will things 
 be as they are, and but, how long has she been in this 
 state?" 
 
 "Since noon. At first I thought she was asleep. But 
 then she began to rave. We thought she'd never come 
 round, but when she did she seemed fairly bright. Had 
 a good fit of crying first, then wanted to get up. But 
 of course she wasn't fit for that, and was glad enough 
 to lie down. When I came back from my room a little 
 later she was writing in a little book it's under her 
 pillow a diary I should think; it has a lock. She 
 said she kept it under the mattress so's he shouldn't 
 find it" 
 
 "He?" 
 
 "The brute that's knocked her about. He's gone now, 
 thought she 'd die, I suppose. Taken all her bits of jew-
 
 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 321 
 
 elry, too. That's what upset her before she went queer. 
 Poor kid. I suppose she's got nothing but her clothes 
 and" 
 
 ' ' You must set her mind at rest, Nell when she comes 
 round. For she'll have her lucid moments, she won't 
 die yet" 
 
 "Perhaps she won't at all?" 
 
 "I can't say that she's as bad as she can be. And 
 there's nothing to keep her back. Get her to tell you 
 if she has friends. She must belong to someone a girl 
 like that. I'm not so sure I oughtn't to send her into 
 hospital, but it's only a matter of a day or two, and 
 if you're willing to look after her, I'll do my share. 
 It's a pity to distress her more by moving her I'll 
 speak to old Madame." 
 
 But Madame knew no more than anyone else. She 
 was only a lodging-house keeper. The man had paid 
 promptly and they seemed fond of each other no, she 
 didn't know where he had gone to. Was it likely she 
 could go into all her lodgers' affairs like that? If the 
 girl was going to be ill long she'd better go to hospital 
 if she was really dying, as Nell said, well the sooner 
 they moved her out the better. One didn 't want deaths 
 in a lodging house. Well then, if that was impossible, 
 who was going to look after her and pay for her room? 
 
 All this, and more, he had to listen to assuring her 
 that the poor girl would not trouble anyone much 
 longer, and that he and Nell would do all that was re- 
 quired. 
 
 "And if she dies?" 
 
 "Ill see to that if her friends don't turn up," he 
 said. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he was to 
 act as guardian and chief mourner. Hadn't he devoted 
 his money, as well as his career, to this work? He went 
 home sadly to his long-delayed tea. Who, and what, 
 was Zoe?
 
 322 THE LURE OF THE FLAME 
 
 Two days later he knew. She had been able to tell 
 enough of her story to rouse his deepest pity, but not 
 enough for him to discover if she had friends. That 
 information he gathered only from the little locked diary 
 and packet of letters she gave him during his last visit 
 after he had answered her question, whether she was 
 really going to die, in the affirmative. 
 
 ' ' Thank God ! ' ' she exclaimed her shining eyes on his 
 grave face. "For if I got better it would be the same 
 thing all over again. I didn't want to be wicked, but 
 I'm a White Slave, doctor, oh, not in the way you mean 
 but just as bad. I'm like a fly in a spider's web. I 
 walked in willingly but now, if I broke loose from 
 most of the threads, there 'd always be one or two cling- 
 ing to me to draw me back " 
 
 And then she produced her papers. 
 
 "But there's one thing I want you to do if you 
 will, please. These tell all about my life every little 
 thing, I think. Perhaps if the world knew it it would 
 save other girls from walking willingly into the web 
 teach their people how to warn them against it. That's 
 all, I think." 
 
 "All? Is there no one" 
 
 "No one, thank you, Doctor," she murmured, turning 
 her face to the wall. 
 
 THE END
 
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