alone in a great modern city, with all the conditions
of the life of the old regime reversed or blotted out.
Your mother is not here. And if she were, her schemes
to bring about the mysterious meeting of the Fates
would be impossible. You outgrew the limits of your
village life. Your highly trained mind landed you in
New York. You've fought your way to a competent living
in five years and kept yourself clean and unspotted
from the world. Granted. But how many men have you
met who are your equals in culture and character?"

Jane paused and held Mary's gaze with steady
persistence.

"How many--honest?"

"None as yet," she confessed.

"But you live in the one fond, imperishable hope!
It's the only thing that keeps you alive and going--
this idea of your Fate. It's an obsession--this
mysterious Knight somewhere in the future riding to
meet you----"

"I'll find him, never fear," the girl laughed.

"Of course you will. You'll make him out of whole
cloth if it's necessary. Our ideals are really the
same when you come to analyze my wider outlook."