Whenshelefthim，histhoughtwasjustatired:’Well，soit’sbegunagain！’Whatdiditmatter，sincecommonloyaltyandcompassioncuthimofffromwhathisheartdesired;andthatdesirewasabsurd，aslittlelikelyofattainmentasthemoon。Whatdiditmatter？Ifitgaveheranypleasuretolovehim，letitgoon！Yet，allthetimethathewaswalkingacrossundertheplanetrees，Noelseemedtowalkinfrontofhim，justoutofreach，sothatheachedwiththethoughtthathewouldnevercatchherup，andwalkbesideher。
Twodayslater，onreachinghisroomsintheevening，hefoundthisletteronship’snote—paper，withthePlymouthpostmark\"Faretheewell，andifforever，Thenforeverfaretheewell\"
\"Leila\"
Hereaditwithareallyhorriblefeeling，foralltheworldasifhehadbeenaccusedofacrimeanddidnotknowwhetherhehadcommitteditornot。And，tryingtocollecthisthoughts，hetookacabanddrovetoherfiat。Itwasclosed，butheraddresswasgivenhim;abankinCapeTown。Hehadreceivedhisrelease。Inhisremorseandrelief，soconfusingandsopoignant，heheardthedriverofthecabaskingwherehewantedtogonow。\"Oh，backagain！\"Butbeforetheyhadgoneamilehecorrectedtheaddress，inanimpulseofwhichnextmomenthefeltthoroughlyashamed。Whathewasdoingindeed，wasasindecentasifheweredrivingfromthefuneralofhiswifetotheboudoirofanotherwoman。WhenhereachedtheoldSquare，andthewords\"Tolet\"staredhimintheface，hefeltacuriousrelief，thoughitmeantthathewouldnotseeherwhomtoseefortenminuteshefelthewouldgiveayearoflife。Dismissinghiscab，hestooddebatingwhethertoringthebell。Thesightofamaid’sfaceatthewindowdecidedhim。Mr。Piersonwasout，andtheyoungladieswereaway。HeaskedforMrs。Laird’saddress，andturnedaway，almostintothearmsofPiersonhimself。Thegreetingwasstiffandstrange。’DoesheknowthatLeila’sgone？’hethought。’Ifso，hemustthinkmethemostawfulskunk。AndamI？AmI？’
Whenhereachedhome，hesatdowntowritetoLeila。Buthavingstaredatthepaperforanhourandwrittenthesethreelines\"MYDEARLEILA，\"IcannotexpresstoyouthefeelingswithwhichIreceivedyourletter——\"