ccomplished, however,
without a sacrifice of temper, for after a pause, he observed:

"There is no accounting for a woman's taste!"

She did not controvert this statement, but the start she gave told him
the shaft had sped home.

"An outlaw! An outcast!" exclaimed the patroon, stung beyond endurance
by his thoughts.

Still no reply; only more hurried footsteps! Around them sounded a
gentle rustling; a lizard scrambled out of their path through the
crackling leaves; a bat, or some other winged creature, suddenly
whirred before them and vanished. They had now approached the gate,
through which they passed and found themselves on the road leading
directly to the city, whose lights had already begun to twinkle in the
dusk.

The cheering rumble of a carriage and the aspect of the not
far-distant town quickened her spirits and imparted elasticity to her
footsteps. Upon the land baron they produced an opposite effect, for
he was obviously reluctant to abandon the interview, however
unsatisfactory it might be. There was nothing to say, and yet he was
loath to leave her; there was nothing to accomplish, and yet he wished
to remain with her. For this reason, as they drew near the city, his
mood became darker, like the night around them. Instinctively, she
felt the turbulent passions stirring in his bosom; his sudden silence,
his dogged footsteps reawakened her misgivings. Furtively she regarded
him, but his eyes were fixed straight before him on the soft luster
above the city, the reflection of the lights, and she knew and
mistrusted his thoughts. Although she found his silence more menacing
than his words, she could think of nothing to say to break the spell,
and so they continued to walk mutely side by side. An observer, seeing
them beneath the cypress, a lovers' promenade, with its soft,
enfolding shadows, would have taken them for a well-matched couple,
who had no need for language.

But when they had emerged from that romantic lane and entered the
city, the land baron breathed more freely. She was now surrounded by
movement and din; the seclusion of the country gave way to the stir of
the city; she was no longer dependent on his good offices; his role of
protector had ended when they left the cypress walk behind them.

His brow cleared; he glanced at her with ill-concealed admiration; he
noticed with secret pride the attention she attracted from passers-by,
the sidelong looks of approval that followed her through th