the estrangement.  They both well knew the birthplace of the cloud—­the little whitewashed cottage.  Several times Charlie generously made excuses for not wanting to go to the cottage, not because he thought Jessie did not like him as well as Narcisse, but because he was willing to sacrifice his interest in her on the altar of pure friendship.  He called to memory the numberless acts of kindness he had received from Narcisse in the camp, and how he had been introduced to her by Narcisse, who he now felt sure sincerely liked Jessie.

Instinctively Narcisse knew why Charlie desired to cease his visits to the cottage, and it made his heart sore.  He decided that he would not go and see her unless Charlie was with him.  When Charlie would complain of feeling tired, off would come Narcisse’s coat, and he would declare that he was feeling completely done up, too, and would not bother going down to the cottage.  No amount of persuasion would make him alter his decision.

After they had a pipe of tobacco, Charlie would generally, in a most matter-of-fact manner, suggest that they both take a walk.  Right well did Narcisse know where the walk would be to, and always acquiesced in such an unconcerned manner that no one would ever have imagined that they had fully made up their minds a few minutes previously not to go out.

One day more, and the month’s vacation would be gone.  Charlie and Narcisse had been indoors all day, to escape the rain that had been falling in great sheets since early morning.  An ill-disposed wind was buffeting the rain in such a fierce, malignant manner as to make one’s room a most desirable place to be in.  Charlie and Narcisse had sat and smoked until their tongues were dry and sore.  It was a relief for them to smoke; not so much to kill time as to break the long awkward pauses in their conversation.  Inwardly they had both decided that it was impossible any longer to bear the constraint that had come between them.

During the long day neither of them had been able to muster courage to refer to the proposed trip to the west, although the day set for it was so close at hand.  They had both decided that day, however, that they would right themselves in each other’s eyes.  Narcisse believed Charlie loved Jessie; Charlie felt sure Narcisse loved her.  Charlie was not sure whether Jessie loved him or Narcisse the better.  Narcisse had, however, a pretty good idea who Jessie had taken a liking to.

When ten o’clock came, Charlie knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and said he was going to bed, and would have a long sleep, as he was played out.  Narcisse glanced sleepily at his own bed in the corner of the room, stretched out his long legs and arms, opened his mouth alarmingly wide, yawned vociferously, and declared that he was so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open.  Before leaving the room to go to his own, which was next to Narcisse’s, Charlie pulled off his coat and threw it over his