THE MOTOR MAID
203
"Oh, yes, I saw to it that she did that," replied Mr. Dane, with conscious virtue in the achievement.
"It is for luck, is n't it?" I said, to make conversation.
"And more especially for love," came the unexpected answer.
"For love!" I exclaimed.
"But yes," chuckled the old man. "If a young girl puts her hand on the Hand of Fatima at Arles, that hand puts love into hers. Her fate is sealed within the month, so it is said."
"Nonsense!" remarked Mr. Dane, "I never heard that silly story before." And he went on eating his dinner with extraordinary nonchalance and an unusual, almost abnormal, appetite.
