'Feel like?--Just anyhow,--and nohow. You should look inside me,and then you'd know.'

'I see.--It's like that, is it?--Suppose she loved another man,what sort of feeling would you feel towards him?'

'Does she love another man?'

'I say, suppose.'

'I dare say she does. I expect that's it.--What an idiot I am notto have thought of that before.' He sighed,--and refilled hisglass. 'He's a lucky chap, whoever he is. I'd--I'd like to tellhim so.'

'You'd like to tell him so?'

'He's such a jolly lucky chap, you know.'

'Possibly,--but his jolly good luck is your jolly bad luck. Wouldyou be willing to resign her to him without a word?'

'If she loves him.'

'But you say you love her.'

'0f course I do.'

'Well then?'

'You don't suppose that, because I love her, I shouldn't like tosee her ecstatic?--I'm not such a beast!--I'd sooner see her ecstaticthan anything else in all the world.'

'I see,--Even ecstatic with another?--I'm afraid that my philosophyis not like yours. If I loved Miss Lindon, and she loved, say,Roberts, I'm afraid I shouldn't feel like that towards Roberts atall.'

'What would you feel like?'

'Murder.--Percy, you come home with me,--we've begun the nighttogether, let's end it together,--and I'll show you one of thefinest notions for committing murder on a scale of realmagnificence you ever dreamed of. I should like to make use of itto show my feelings towards the supposititious Roberts,--he'd knowwhat I felt for him when once he had been introduced to it.'