She pointed a brown hand towards the sand-dunes.

"On the shore, sir," she said. "We hear the waves all night."

"So do I," said Durant, and his voice was suddenly sharp with a pain he
could not try to silence. "All night and all day."

She did not seem to notice his tone.

"You live in the cottage on the cliff?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I came last week," he said. "I hadn't seen the sea for nearly a year. I
wanted to be alone. And--so I am."

"All alone?" she queried quickly.

He nodded again.

"With my servant," he said. He repeated with a certain doggedness: "I
wanted to be alone."

There was a pause. The girl was standing in the doorway. Her dog was
basking in the sunshine not a yard away. She looked at the cripple with
thoughtful eyes.

"I live alone, too," she said. "That is--Cæsar and I."