troublesome. You have but made your entrance into the coldest, most
exciting arena, --the world. Remember what I tell you, --all the strong
motives, love and hate and jealousy, are mere flotsam and jetsam. You are
the only loser by their possession."

The quiet closing of the door was his only answer. Ruth had left the room.

She knew Arnold too well to be affected by his little splurt of cynicism.
If she could escape a cynic either in books or in society, she invariably
did so. Life was still beautiful for her; and one of her father's untaught
lessons was that the cynic is a one-sided creature, having lost the eye
that sees the compensation balancing all things. As long as Louis attacked
things, it did no harm, except to incite a friendly passage-at-arms; hence,
most of such talk passed in the speaking. Not so the disparaging
insinuations he had cast at Dr. Kemp.

During the week in which Ruth had established herself as nurse-in-chief to
her mother she had seen him almost daily. Time in a quiet sick-room passes
monotonously; events that are unnoticed in hours of well-being and activity
here assume proportions of importance; meal-times are looked forward to as
a break in the day; the doctor's visit especially when it is the only one
allowed, is an excitement. Dr. Kemp's visits were short, but the two
learned to look for his coming and the sound of his deep, cheery voice, as
to their morning's tonic that would strengthen the whole day. Naturally,
as he was a stranger, Mrs. Levice in her idleness had analyzed and
discussed aloud his qualities, both personal and professional, to her
satisfaction. She had small ground for basing her judgments, but the
doctor formed a good part of her conversation.

Ruth's knowledge of him was somewhat larger, --about the distance between