"A little--" Her companion started to enter protest, but did not continue. The girl was staring into the fire as she spoke and seemed only to half remember his existence. For the most part he had known her as one full of the very joy of living, given to seeing life from its cheerful, often from its humorous, side. Yet he knew her to be volatile, a creature of moods. This one, which he had learned to know but lately, would pass. He watched her, a little troubled yet fascinated by it all, his whole being stirred by the charm of her presence.
"One so strong--so qualified--should lead," she continued slowly, "not merely look on. Oh, if I were a man I should lead--I should ride to victory! I should be a--a--I do not know what," she concluded helplessly, "but I should ride to victory."
He restrained any impulse he may have had to smile, and presently said, rather quietly:
"I suppose there are avenues of conquest to-day, as there were when the world was young. But I am afraid they are so crowded with the rank and file that paladins ride few and far between. You know," he added, more lightly, "knight-errantry has gone out of fashion, and armor would be a clumsy thing to wear--crossing Broadway, for instance."
She laughed happily--her sense of humor was never very deeply buried.
"I know," she nodded, "we do not meet many Galahads these days, and most of the armor is make-believe, yet I am sure there are knights whom we do not recognize, with armor which we do not see."
The young man sat up a bit straighter in his chair and assumed a more matter-of-fact tone.
"Suppose we put aside allegory," he said, "and discuss just how you think a man--myself, for instance--could set the world afire--make it wiser and better, I mean."
The embers were dying down, and she looked into them a little longer before replying. Then, presently:
"Oh, if I were only a man!" she repeated. "There is so much--so many things--for a man to do. Discovery, science, feats of engineering, the professions, the arts, philanthropy--oh, everything! And for us, so little!"
A look of amusement grew about the young man's mouth. He had seen much more of the world than she; was much older in a manner not reckoned by years.
"We do not monopolize it all, you know. Quite a few women are engaged in the professions and philanthropy; many in the arts."