stared down at the vibrant little figure beside him.

"There is some of it I don't know, myself," she began. "And
lately I've found myself wondering if all I really know is
true, or whether they have been deceiving me about some of it.
I have no right to feel that way, I suppose, about my own
brother. But he's so horribly under Rodney Hade's influence,
and--"

Again, she paused, seeming to realize she was wandering from
the point. And she made a fresh start.

"It all began as an adventure, a sort of game, more than in
earnest," she said. "At least, looking back, that's the way
it seems to me now. As a wonderfully exciting game. You see,
everything down here was so thrillingly exciting and
interesting to me, even then."

"I see."

"If you don't mind," she added, "I think I can make you
understand it all the better, if you'll let me go back to the
beginning. I'll make it as short as I can."

"Yes."

"I had been brought up in New York, except when we were in
Europe or when I was away at school. My father and mother
never let me see or know anything of real life. Dad was old,
even as far back as I can remember. Mother was his second