He kissed herwith half discernible, dim kisses, and
touched her throat. But whateverelse he did, hed never be unkind, and he COULDNT be
brutal. Then she looked at the littleclock on his writing-table. It has been hisone
aim in life, to make my life happy.
Perfectly lovely shewould look in a mantilla. Of
course during the war it was terrible. For some momentshe watched her as she sat
sewing. Hereyes became round and childish, her face went yellowish. Not that anybody
cares onebit, you know, unofficially.
Oh, please, do not tell him youhave seen
it!
So she left him still sitting on the roof. Hannele,
who had dodged behind a screen, now came quickly forth. You shall have even five, if
you dont mindthe last two weak. The Colonel advises me to go home on leave. It was
almost a gargoyle smile, a strange, lurking,changeless-seeming grin. Judging from
his portrait, as you callit.
I do wish, she said wistfully, there had been a
larger selectionof the dolls.
It wasexactly like day in some other planet. Not to
be regarded from a human point of view.
Hewas like the doll, a tall, slender, well-bred man
in uniform. The trouble is, they are apparentlygoing to have to take official
notice.
He sat gazing with curious, bright, dark, unseeing
eyes at the dollwhich he held by one arm.
Nothing means anything to you, she
challenged.
She lifted her face andwatched as he entered. Onthe
contrary, I wish her all the good in the world. Martin was real: German men were
real toher.
When he got home, he said to her: Why didnt you
meet the boat? What living she now had she earned making these puppets.
Let me feel that we are together, andI dont care
about all the rest.
But he had wanted to be high up, becauseof his
stars, and this was the place that pleased him.