”Yes,”cameinfalteringreply。”Hehasheardourvoices;Imustgotohim。””SaythatOrlandowisheshimagoodnight,”smiledherheart’senemy,withabowofinfinitegrace。Sheshuddered,andwashasteningfromtheroomwhenherglancefellonMr。Challoner。Hewaspaleandlookedgreatlydisturbed。Theprospectofbeingleftalonewithamanwhomshehadherselfdenouncedtohimashisdaughter’smurderer,mightproveataxtohisstrengthtowhichshehadnorighttosubjecthim。Pausingwithanappealingair,shemadehimaslightgesturewhichheatonceunderstood。”Iwillaccompanyyouintothehall,”saidhe。”Thenifanythingiswrong,youhavebuttospeakmyname。”
ButOrlandoBrotherson,displeasedbythismove,tookastepwhichbroughthimbetweenthetwo。”Youcanhearherfromhereifshechoosestospeak。There’sapointtobesettledbetweenusbeforeeitherofusleavesthishouse,andthisopportunityisasgoodasanother。Gotomybrother,MissScott;wewillawaityourreturn。”
Aflashfromtheproudbanker’seye;butnodemur,ratheragestureofconsent。Doris,withalookofdeepanxiety,spedaway,andthetwomenstoodfacetoface。
Itwasoneofthosemomentswhichmenrecogniseasmemorable。Whathadtheonetosayortheothertohear,worthyofthispreambleandthemorethandoubtfulrelationinwhichtheystoodeachtoeach?
Mr。Challonerhadmoretimethanheexpectedinwhichtowonderandgirdhimselfforwhateversufferingorshockawaitedhim。For,OrlandoBrotherson,unlikehisusualself,kepthimwaitingwhilehecollectedhisownwits,which,strangetosay,seemedtohavevanishedwiththegirl。
Butthequestionfinallycame。”Mr。Challoner,doyouknowmybrother?””Ihaveneverseenhim。””Doyouknowhim?Doesheknowyou?””Notatall。Wearestrangers。”
Itwassaidhonestly。Theydidnotknoweachother。Mr。Challonerwasquitecorrectinhisstatement。
Buttheotherhadhisdoubts。Whyshouldn’thehave?ThecoincidenceoffindingthismournerifnotavengerofEdithChalloner,inhisowndirectradiusagain,ataspotsodistant,soobscureandsodisconnectedwithanyapparentbusinessreason,wascertainlystartlingenoughunlessthetiecouldbefoundinhisbrother’snameandcloserelationshiptohimself。
He,therefore,allowedhimselftopressthequestion:”Mensometimescorrespondwhodonotknoweachother。YouknewthataBrothersonlivedhere?””Yes。””Andhopedtolearnsomethingaboutme”No;myinterestwassolelywithyourbrother。””Withmybrother?WithOswald?Whatinterestcanyouhaveinhimapartfromme?Oswaldis-”
Suddenlyathoughtname-anunimaginableone;onewithpowertoblanchevenhishardycheekandshakeasoulunassailablebyallsmallemotions。”OswaldBrotherson!”herepeated;addinginunintelligibletonestohimself-”O。B。Thesameinitials!Theyarefollowinguptheseinitials。PoorOswald。”Thenaloud:”Ithardlybecomesme,perhaps,toquestionyourmotivesinthisattemptatmakingmybrother’sacquaintance。IthinkIcanguessthem;butyourlabourwillbewasted。Oswald’sinterestsdonotextendbeyondthistown;theyhardlyextendtome。Wearestrangers,almost。Youwilllearnnothingfromhimonthesubjectwhichnaturallyengrossesyou。”
Mr。Challonersimplybowed。”Idonotfeelcalledupon,”saidhe,”toexplainmyreasonsforwishingtoknowyourbrother。Iwillsimplysatisfyyouuponapointwhichmaywellrouseyourcuriosity。
Yourememberthat-thatmydaughter’slastactwasthewritingofalettertoalittleprotegeeofhers。MissScottwasthatprotegee。
Inseekingher,Icameuponhim。Doyourequiremetosaymoreonthissubject?WaittillIhaveseenMr。OswaldBrothersonandthenperhapsIcandoso。”
Receivingnoanswertothis,Mr。Challonerturnedagaintothemanwhowastheobjectofhisdeepestsuspicions,tofindhimstillinthedazeofthatunimaginablethought,battlingwithit,scoffingatit,succumbingtoitandallwithoutaword。Mr。Challonerwaswithoutclewtothisstruggle,butthemightofitandthemysteryofit,drovehiminextremeagitationfromtheroom。Thoughproofwaslacking,thoughproofmightnevercome,nothingcouldeveralterhisbelieffromthismomentonthatDoriswasrightinherestimateofthisman’sguilt,howeverunsubstantialherreasoningmightappear。
Howfarhemighthavebeencarriedbythisnewconviction;whetherhewouldhaveleftthehousewithoutseeingDorisagainorexchanginganotherwordwiththemanwhoseverypresencestifledhim,hehadnoopportunitytoshow,forbeforehehadtakenanotherstep,heencounteredthehurryingfigureofDoris,whowasreturningtoherguestswithanairofmarkedrelief。”Hedoesnotknowthatyouarehere,”shewhisperedtoMr。Challoner,asshepassedhim。Then,assheagainconfrontedOrlandowhohastenedtodismisshistroubleatherapproach,shesaidquitegaily,”Mr。Brothersonheardyourvoice,andisgladtoknowthatyou’rehere。Hebademegiveyouthiskeyandsaythatyouwouldhavefoundthingsinbettershapeifhehadbeeninconditiontosuperintendtheremovaloftheboxestotheplacehehadpreparedforyoubeforehebecameill。Iwastheonetodothat,”sheadded,controllingheraversionwithmanifesteffort。”WhenMr。BrothersoncametohimselfheaskedifIhadheardaboutanylargeboxeshavingarrivedatthestationshippedtohisname。Isaidthatseveralnoticesofsuchhadcometothehouse。Atwhichherequestedmetoseethattheywerecarriedatoncetothestrangelookingshedhehadhadputupforhiminthewoods。Ithoughtthattheywereforhim,andIsawtothethingmyself。Twoorthreeothershavecomesinceandbeentakentothesameplace。Ithinkyouwillfindnothingbrokenordisturbed;Mr。Brotherson’swishesareusuallyrespected。””Thatisfortunateforme,”wasthecourteousreply。
ButOrlandoBrothersonwasnothimself,notatallhimselfashebowedaformaladieuandpastthedrawn-upsentinel-likefigureofMr。Challoner,withoutamotiononhispartoronthepartofthatgentlemantolightenanexitwhichhadsomethinginitofdoomanddreadpresage。
CHAOS
ItisnotdifficulttounderstandMr。Challoner’sfeelingsoreventhoseofDorisatthemomentofMr。Brotherson’sdeparture。ButwhythischangeinBrothersonhimself?Whythissenseofsomethingnewandterriblerisingbetweenhimandthesuddenlybecloudedfuture?
Letusfollowhimtohislonelyhotel-roomandseeifwecansolvethepuzzle。
Butfirst,doesheunderstandhisowntrouble?Hedoesnotseemto。
Forwhen,hishatthrownaside,hestops,erectandfrowningundertheflaringgas-jethehadnorecollectionoflighting,hisfirstactwastolifthishandtohisheadinagestureofsurprisinghelplessnessforhim,whilesnatchesofbrokensentencesfellfromhislipsamongwhichcouldbeheard:”Whathascometome?Undoneinanhour!Doublyundone!Firstbyafaceandthenbythisthoughtwhichsurelythedevilshavewhisperedtome。Mr。ChallonerandOswald!Whatisthelinkbetweenthem?GreatGod!whatisthelink?Notmyself?Whothenorwhat?”
Flinginghimselfintoachair,heburiedhisfaceinhishands。
Thereweretwodemonstofight-thefirstintheguiseofanangel。
Doris!Unknownyesterday,unknownanhourago;butnow!Hadthereeverbeenaday-anhour-whenshehadnotbeenastheverythrobofhisheart,thelightofhiseyes,andthecrownorallimaginableblisses?
Hewasstartledathisownemotionashecontemplatedherimageinhisfancyandlistenedforthelostechoofthefewwordsshehadspoken-wordssofullofmusicwhentheyreferredtohisbrother,sohardandcoldwhenshesimplyaddressedhimself。
Thiswasnopassingadmirationofyouthforacaptivatingwoman。
ThiswasnoteventhelovehehadgiventoEdithChalloner。Thiswassomethingspringingfull-bornoutofnothing!aforcewhich,forthefirsttimeinhislife,madehimcomplaisanttothenaturalweaknessesofman!adreamandyetarealitystrongenoughtoblotoutthepast,remakethepresent,changetheaspectofallhishopes,andoutlineanewfate。Hedidnotknowhimself。Therewasnothinginhiswholehistorytogivehimanunderstandingofsuchfeelingsasthese。
Canamanbeseizedasitwerebythehair,andswungupontheslopesofparadiseordownthesteepsofhell-withoutaforewarning,withoutthechanceeventosaywhetherhewishedsuchacataclysminhislifeorno?
He,OrlandoBrotherson,hadneverthoughtmuchoflove。Sciencehadbeenhismistress;ambitionhislode-star。Suchfeelingashehadacknowledgedtohadbeenformen-strugglingmen,menwhoweredown-troddenandgaspinginthenarrowboundsofpovertyandhelplessness。MissChallonerhadroused-well,hispride。Hecouldseethatnow。Themightofthisnewemotionmadeplainmanythingshehadpassedbyasuseless,puerile,unworthyofamanofmentalcalibreandmight。HehadneverlovedEdithChalloneratanymomentoftheiracquaintanceship,thoughhehadbeensincereinthinkingthathedid。Doris’beauty,thehourhehadjustpassedwithher,hadundeceivedhim。
Didhehailtheexperience?Itwasnotlikelytobringhimjoy。
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