A long interval of silence, for Julia a busy interval, followed.

“When am I going to see Anna?” Jim asked, ending it.

“Whenever you want to,” Julia said pleasantly.  “I’ve familiarized her with your picture; she’ll be friendly at once; she always is.  Some day, when you are going to be here, I’ll send her over for the day.  She loves Sausalito, and I really believe she’d do poor Mother good.”

“And when shall I come and see you—­to talk about things?” Jim asked humbly.

“My dear Jim,” Julia answered briskly, “I cannot see the need of our meeting again; I think it is most unwise—­just a nervous strain on both sides.  What have we to discuss?  I tell you that I am perfectly willing to let you have your way.  It’s too bad, it’s a thing I detest—­divorce; but the whole situation is unfortunate, and we must make the best of it!”

Jim’s stunned amazement showed in a return of his sullen colour and the fixed glassy look in his eyes.

“What will people think of this, Ju?  Every one will have to know it—­it will make a deuce of a lot of talk!” he said, trying to scare her.

Julia shook her head, with just a suggestion of a smile.

“Much less than you think, Jim,” she answered sensibly.  “Society long ago suspected that something was wrong; the announcement of a divorce will only confirm it.”

“We’ll have the whole crowd of them buzzing about our heads,” Jim said, determined to touch her serenity by one phase or another.

“Oh, no, we won’t!” Julia returned placidly.  “The only circumstances under which there would have been buzzing would have been if I had tried to keep my place in society.  I dropped out, and they let me go without a murmur.  No buzzing from San Francisco society ever reaches Shotwell Street, and as for you, you’ll be in London.”

“How do you know I’ll be in London?” Jim growled, utterly nonplussed.

Julia gave him a bright look over a letter, but did not answer, and the man fell to worrying an envelope again.  Moments passed, the autumn twilight fell, Julia began to stack her letters in neat piles.

Presently she quietly rose, and quietly left the room, without a word, without a backward glance.  Jim sat on in the dusk, staring moodily ahead of him, his eyes half shut, the fingers of one big hand drumming gently on the table.

A few days later he went out to Shotwell Street to see her.  Julia met him very quietly, and presented the little Anna with the solicitous interest in the child’s manner that she would have shown had Jim been any casual friend.  Anna, who was lovely in a pale pink cotton garment a little too small for her, looked seriously at her father, submitted to his kisses, her wondering eyes never moving from his face, and wriggled out of his arms as soon as she could.

“My God!  She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” said Jim, under his breath.

“She looks very nice when she’s clean and good,” Julia agreed practically, kissing Anna herself.