“But I’m not personal at all, am I, Mr. Bricknell?” said Tanny.

Jim watched Lilly, and grinned pleasedly.

“Why shouldn’t you be, anyhow?” he said.

“Yes!” she retorted.  “Why not!”

“Not while I’m here.  I loathe the slimy creepy personal intimacy.—­ ’Don’t you think, Mr. Bricknell, that it’s lovely to be able to talk quite simply to somebody?  Oh, it’s such a relief, after most people —–­’” Lilly mimicked his wife’s last speech savagely.

“But I MEAN it,” cried Tanny.  “It is lovely.”

“Dirty messing,” said Lilly angrily.

Jim watched the dark, irascible little man with amusement.  They rose, and went to look for an inn, and beer.  Tanny still clung rather stickily to Jim’s side.

But it was a lovely day, the first of all the days of spring, with crocuses and wall-flowers in the cottage gardens, and white cocks crowing in the quiet hamlet.

When they got back in the afternoon to the cottage, they found a telegram for Jim.  He let the Lillys see it—­“Meet you for a walk on your return journey Lois.”  At once Tanny wanted to know all about Lois.  Lois was a nice girl, well-to-do middle-class, but also an actress, and she would do anything Jim wanted.

“I must get a wire to her to meet me tomorrow,” he said.  “Where shall I say?”

Lilly produced the map, and they decided on time and station at which Lois coming out of London, should meet Jim.  Then the happy pair could walk along the Thames valley, spending a night perhaps at Marlowe, or some such place.

Off went Jim and Lilly once more to the postoffice.  They were quite good friends.  Having so inhospitably fixed the hour of departure, Lilly wanted to be nice.  Arrived at the postoffice, they found it shut:  half-day closing for the little shop.

“Well,” said Lilly.  “We’ll go to the station.”

They proceeded to the station—­found the station-master—­were conducted down to the signal-box.  Lilly naturally hung back from people, but Jim was hob-nob with the station-master and the signal man, quite officer-and-my-men kind of thing.  Lilly sat out on the steps of the signal-box, rather ashamed, while the long telegram was shouted over the telephone to the junction town—­first the young lady and her address, then the message “Meet me X. station 3:40 tomorrow walk back great pleasure Jim.”

Anyhow that was done.  They went home to tea.  After tea, as the evening fell, Lilly suggested a little stroll in the woods, while Tanny prepared the dinner.  Jim agreed, and they set out.  The two men wandered through the trees in the dusk, till they came to a bank on the farther edge of the wood.  There they sat down.

And there Lilly said what he had to say.  “As a matter of fact,” he said, “it’s nothing but love and self-sacrifice which makes you feel yourself losing life.”

“You’re wrong.  Only love brings it back—­and wine.  If I drink a bottle of Burgundy I feel myself restored at the middle—­right here!  I feel the energy back again.  And if I can fall in love—­But it’s becoming so damned hard—­”