And she was gone.

At the mention of La Grande Duchesse he sighed, and turned his head away
from her. What it all meant I did not know, and she had annoyed me as
much as she had perplexed me; her moods were like the chameleon's
colours. He lay silent for a long time, then he turned to me and said:
"Do you remember that tale in the Bible about David and the well of
Bethlehem?" I had to confess my ignorance.

"I think I can remember it," he continued. And though I urged him not to
tax himself, he spoke slowly thus:

"And David was in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was
then in Bethlehem.

"And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of
the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate!

"And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew
water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took
and brought it to David; nevertheless, he would not drink thereof,
but poured it out unto the Lord.

"And he said, My God forbid it me that I should do this; is not this
the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?
Therefore he would not drink it."

He paused a moment, and then added: "One always buys back the past at a
tremendous price. Resurrections give ghosts only."