The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-06

seemed almost as IL it had detached il.
self from the solid monument 10 greet
him. IL was the figure of, q woman,
who seemed TO be as closely enveloped
i'm fur as he WAS himself. So much ho
could see at the first glance, and in
moment he felt sure that this must be
the creature he had come 10 meet. She
must have waited close in the shadow
of the stone until she saw him'coming,
and he slightly quickened his pace to
join the woman who now stood, clear
and obvious, on the pathway in the
vivid circle of a lamp, evidently waiting
for him.
Philo came up near TO the woman and
halted. She did not move; he could see
her clearly, and he looked at her close
~. He saw n face that was very pale
with pallor that was intensified by the
living redness of the lips, and 10y the eN-
ceeding brightness ofshe eyes. Ii was
the eyes especially that fixed and fasci'
mated him. Philo Amcs had looked into
the eyes of so many women and read
many meanings i'm their depths, but il
seemed to him in that moment that ne
y
brilliant, so lit Nth somber fire, SO
| haunting in their expression, SO com
manding in their appeal. The face was
very beautiful with its white beauty,
with it's circle of black hair, with it's
| warm red mouth, but the charm OF the
! eyes dominated all the rest and put
| them out OF mind.
You come most punctually upon
/ your hour" she said grayely, and he
fore the surprise on Ames' face at this
| unexpected greeting had time TO fade or
! change she continued in the same strain
with the fitting sequence: For this re-
| lief much thanks, Us bitter cold and
| l. and with the pronoun she paused,
and the unexpected quotation driited
away into sigh. Ames said the only
! thing he could very well say under the
| circumstances; he said: Let me hope
that you are not sick at heart"
The woman looked away for mo-
| ment, looked at the sullen river and the
shining distant lights, then her great
dark eyes fixed their gaze again upon
! Philo's face.
Perhaps L am" she answered. "It
was very good of YOU 10 come, and yet
felt sure that you would come; and you
see that was right"
Philo felt and appreciated the eccen-
tricity of the occasion.
You sent for me-" he said, with n
manner of grave courtesy. "and am
here. Can l be of any service TO you?"
The woman replied, after the fashion
of women, TO one question with another.
"Do you care for life?" she asked.
slowly and earnestly.
There was something absurd in the
! utterancc of such a question, at such a
time and under such conditions, which
would usually have made Philo laugh.
Eut, though the position was incon-
gruOus, though the question was gro
tesque, Philo did not feel moved To
laughter. The woman appeared TO be
| in earnest the woman certainly was
| beautiful, and her eyes seemed, in the
fine phrase of Portia, TO have overlooked
her companion of q moments time. He
did not allow himself time to reflect
upon the qucerness of this eccentric en-
countcr, upon the amazing abruptness
of the interrogation, upon the sinister
possibilities that might lie associated
uitb tho ,dvent,,r, b,d..ad sir;stsr
possibilities never counted for much in
phiIo Amos, esti,n,tc. ~ an intcrcsti,o,
situation, and the present situation had
at least the merit of being exceedingly
;,tarcstipo Sohe oo,, ha,.l, a., eo,,,a.st
80, 80 3t, 1.,,s.,
ion while be tbouobt ~ sor,e an,,,.nnri.
otn ,c,lv +o her oueetio, In,t he .npld
tbiul, Of nothing ON the snur of tbe mo.
ncrt more annrorriata man the ,aouo
and ,ioncommittaI forrulo of "That de.
peuds." and so he said that. with an ef-
fort 70 make if seem informed with
many meanings. II did not have n very
satisfactory effect upon the woman. \
look Of disdain shadowpd her eyes with
deeper darkness and tightened the