He would not lift his eyes, when she gave him a furtive glance.

The expression of his half averted face was positively sinister as he added with a sneering little laugh.
'One can't look as if one had come out of a bandbox after fighting a bush fire.' She exclaimed, 'Oh! what does it matter ?' He utterly mistook the meaning of her exclamation.
'You are quite right,' he retorted.

'When it comes to the end of everything, what does ANYTHING matter!' For several moments there was dead silence.

She felt as if he had wilfully stabbed her.

He on his side had again the confused sense of two antagonists, feinting with their weapons to gain time before the critical encounter.
'Well ?' He swung himself savagely round upon her.