ve to say?"
"Oh-h!"--indifferently--"nothing much. He brought back an armful of
books."
An armful of books--aye, and his heart full of love! How dared he speak
of it with his life wrapped in the dark shadows of some secret?
Talk to me of progress! That day I could have raced neck-and-neck with a
shooting star!
XV
PINKEY CHALMERS CALLS AGAIN
Never having been within hailing distance before of the processes of
love and proceedings of courtship there were no signposts in my
experience to guide me as to what should be my next step, if it were
mine to take. I had been too busy a woman to indulge in many novels, but
in the few I had read the hero lost no time in saying, "Will you?" and
at once somebody began to practise the wedding march. I suppose the
fashion in lovemaking changes as much as the styles; nothing I ever
thought or dreamed on the subject seemed to fit the case in hand.
I waited for Zura to tell me, but she didn't. She only sang the more as
she went about her work, doubling her efforts in making sweet the home
and herself. She seemed to find fresh joy in every hour.
Any thoughts I'd cherished that young Hanaford would come at once, clear
up all the confusion about himself, frankly declare his love for Zura
and be happy forever afterward died from lack of nourishment.
Only my deep affection for the boy restrained my anger at his silence.
The love and sympathy which bolstered up my faith in him were reinforced
by his gentle breeding and high mental quality; but circumstances forced
me reluctantly to admit that the story he told when he first came was
not true. Page Hanaford was not only under a shadow, but also was
undoubtedly seeking to conceal his whereabouts. And why? The question
sat on the foot of my bed at night and made faces at me, scrawled itself
all over my work and met me around every corner.
It was next to impossible to connect him with dishonesty or baseness
when looking into his face, or hearing him talk. But why didn't he speak
out, and why hide his talents in this obscure place? He was gifted. His
classes had increased to large numbers, and so excellent were his
methods his fame had gone abroad. The Department of Education had
offered him a lucrative position as teacher in the Higher Normal College
in a neighboring city. But, instead of snatching at this good fortune,
he asked for time to consider.
He came frequently to talk it over with me; at least that's what he
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