without bitterness, and he told me what
she said, word for word, without a breath
of blame for her. I do not believe that
he judged her at all; she did not know--
he always said; she did not KNOW; and
then, when I opened my lips, Grayson
reached silently for my wrist, and I can
feel again the warning crush of his fingers,
and I say nothing against her now.

I asked Grayson what his answer was.

``I asked her,'' he said, solemnly, ``if
she had ever seen a purple rhododendron.''

I almost laughed, picturing the scene
--the girl bewildered by his absurd question--
Grayson calm, superbly courteous.
It was a mental peculiarity of his--this
irrelevancy--and it was like him to end
a matter of life and death in just that
way.

``I told her I should send her one.
I am waiting for them to come out,'' he
added; and he lay back with his head
against a stone and sighted the telescope
on a dizzy point, about which buzzards
were circling.