The Courtesan
51
For a long time she lay silent, overwhelmed with lassitude. Her flesh appeared greenish-white in the gloom. A perfumed breeze of the night, slipping among the trees, gently fanned her outstretched body.
Then, gradually, the weight of the coins in her palm penetrated to her numbed thought. A new hope awoke within her; her mind slowly cleared; in spite of herself she realized, little by little, that she could buy food . . . With an inarticulate cry, which was half a sob, she staggered to her feet and stumbled away among the trees . . .
