San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-04

words OF hers had come 10 stand De-
side the cottage gate. He answered her
before he lifted the latch.
"You might show that you trusted
me little more. That's what you might
do,n he said with frank laugh.
Il do trust you," she said.
But she understood what he meant,
and she made her answer rather family.
You don't seem to do it. l should
say you regarded me as sort of ogre,
with whom it was not quite safe to be
on speaking terms"
"Mr. Dunstan-!" she said.
"You know You never like to be IN
the same room with me-"
.''Oh, it is not thatl"
sit is something very like that"
"You know why L go away. You
know that would not do it if | did not
feel how worse than useless L always
am where people want to be merry to-
gether."
"That is a morbid feeling; you
shouldn't encourage it. Besides, why
do you assume that we always want to
be merry?"
81 will not say merry, if you do not
like the word,-butI mean that you like
to be all happy and at ease with one an
other"
when only my sister and my nieces
are at home, however, this idea of them
being at ease with one another, OBJ
serve. does not seem to trouble you
much?"
She colored when he said this, and
made no answer for moment; then
hesitating, and almost in tone of de-
precation--
at matters less with them! besides
they are so good" she said.
'And am not good?"
1t was rather an odd thing that Mr..
Dunstan should choose Esther Hill out
of all women in the world to tease and
drive into corner in this way; and yet,
as he stood there leaning against the
gate, he seemed perfectly at ease in do
ing it, and the face that was so fixed
and stern to other people had got flush
ed and mobile while he talked to her,
flushed with warm human blood, and
made beautiful and womanly,-like
what it had been long ago, probably, be-
fore the weight and horror of her bitter
secret had taken the light out of it. Mr..
Dunstan stood with his hand upon the
gate, barring the entrance till he chose
to open it for her, and as he stood so he
scarcely moved his eyes away from it.
"And am I not goodp" he had said.
Upon which their eyes met, all at
once,-hers wistful and almost appeal
ing, his with a good deal of laughter in
them.
"You know do not mean that" she
said.
And then, after a moments silence,
as if yielding to strong impulse
after all your Ambassador what
you have said to-day,-do you think l
could mean that?" she said.
"Well, / won't think you mean it if
you show me that you don't,-but hith-
erto you have forced me to think it,
you know" he answered. And then
with laugh he raised himself. and lift
ed up the latch. "Good-by. 1 am GO
ing to your next door neighbor. You
don't know him-do your" he added as
he held out his hand to her, in rather
sudden, quick way.
"Mr. Gilbert2 No; have merely seen
him going about the garden here" she
answered carelessly. ...
"You don't remember ever meeting
him anywhere else, thenp Because he
fancies that he has seen you somewhere
BEFORE"
sThat he has seen mel" she said.
The words were natural enough, but
she did not say them as any one else in
the circumstances might have done, in
tone of slight surprise or Indifferent
inquiry, but almost with gasp,-with
the blood, too, rushing in crimson to
her face, and look in her eyeS-for a
moment, until she regained self-poSses-
sion enough to control it-almost of
terror.
Mr.. Dunstan was a tolerably cool
man, but he was startled by the effect
he had produced in no small degree.
He was so surprised at this sudden and
violent evidence of emotion that it made
him, in fact, for few seconds forget
his own business of replying to her.
Two or three moments had passed be-
fore he said in as Indifferent tone as
he could assume
"Yes-he seems to think your face is
familiar to him. 1 suppose it is not so
unlikely that he may have met you
somewhere He has been about the
world good deal.
II do not think he can ever have seen
me-"
She did not say this excitedly, but in
a faint quick voice, as some one might
speak who had shock that had taken
her breath away.
"Well, he may be wrong, you know;
very likely he is wrong. 1t may only
be that you are like some one else. OF
course one makes mistakes of that kind
often enough" Mr.. Dunstan said good
naturally. II thought that possibly
you might recollect him. is curious
sometimes how we seem to recognize a
face that we have really never seen in
our lives before. / have known it hap
pen many a time" CIe said all this
while she stood motionless, and all the
time he was speaking he was thinking