“I wish the cargo had killed me,” she said.

I waited for a little, then rose and made her sit in my chair.  I drew another near her.

“Now,” said I.  “Tell me all about it.”

And she told me in her broken way.

* * * * *

She walked into the drawing-room thinking to find Barbara.  Instead, she sailed into a surging sea of passion.  Doria crouched on a sofa hiding her face—­the flame, poor little elf in the Nessus shirt, had been lapping her round, and with both hands outstretched she motioned away Jaffery who stood over her.

“Don’t touch me, don’t touch me!  I couldn’t bear it!” she cried; and then, aware of Liosha’s sudden presence, she started to her feet.  Liosha did not move.  The two women glared at each other.

“What do you mean by coming in here?” cried Doria.

“You had better leave us, Liosha,” said Jaffery sombrely.

But Liosha stood firm.  The spurning of Jaffery by Doria struck a chord of the heroic that ran through her strange, wild nature.  If this man she loved was not for her, at least no other woman should scorn him.  She drew herself up in her full-bosomed magnificence.

“Instead of telling him not to touch you, you little fool, you ought to fall at his feet.  For what he has done for you, you ought to steal the wide world and give it to him.  And you refuse your footling little insignificant self.  If you had a thousand selves, they wouldn’t be enough for him.”

“Stop!” shouted Jaffery.

She wheeled round on him.  “Hold your tongue, Jaff Chayne.  I guess I’ve the right, if anybody has, to fix up your concerns.”

“What right?” Doria demanded.

“Never mind.”  She took a step forward.  “Oh, no; not that right!  Don’t you dare to think it.  Jaff Chayne doesn’t care a tinker’s curse for me that way.  But I have a right to speak, Jaff Chayne.  Haven’t I?”

Jaffery’s mind went back to the Bedlam of the slithering cargo.  He turned to Doria.

“Let her say what she wants.”

“I want nothing!” cried Liosha.  “Nothing for myself.  Not a thing!  But I want Jaff Chayne to be happy.  You think you know all he has done for you, but you don’t.  You don’t know a bit.  They offered him thousands of pounds to go to Persia, and he would have come back a great man, and he didn’t go because of you.”

“Persia?  I never heard of that,” said Doria.

“The job didn’t suit me,” Jaffery growled.

“And you told her all about it?”

“No, he didn’t,” said Liosha.  “Hilary told me to-day.”

“I take your word for it,” said Doria coldly.  “It only shows that I’m under one more obligation than I thought to Mr. Chayne.”

From what I could gather, the word “obligation” infuriated Liosha.  She uttered an avalanche of foolish things.  And Jaffery (for what is man in a woman’s battle but an impotent spectator?) looked in silence from one:  to the other; from the little ivory, black and white Tanagra figure to the great full creature whom he had seen, but a few days ago, with the salt spray in her hair and the wind in her vestments.  And at last she said: