no one should guess
what he bore; but he bore a writhing brain and a passion that was
heaving with disappointment. To no end--except to expose himself--he
had worked at his mining operations all these months; nothing could be
more absolute than the silence of Faith's answer; nothing could be more
certain than the fixedness of her position. Against the very
impassableness of the barrier the doctor's will chafed, even while his
hope gave way. He ruthlessly called himself a fool for it too, at the
minute. But he was unused to be baffled; and no man pursues long with
such deliberate energy a purpose upon which he has set his heart,
without having all the cords of his will and his passion knit at last
into a cable of strength and tenacity. The doctor's walk grew slower,
and his eyes fell on the ground. How lovely Faith had looked--even
then, when she was putting him and herself to pain; how speakingly the
crimson hues had chased each other all over her face, and neck; how
shyly her eyelashes had kept their place on her cheek; with how
exquisite grace her still attitude had been maintained. And withal what
a piece of simplicity she was! What a contrast those superb diamonds
had made with the almost quaint unadornedness of her figure in its
white wrapper. A contrast that somehow was not inharmonious, and with
which the doctor's artistic taste confessed itself bewitched, though
Faith's only other remotest ornament was that very womanly one of her
rich brown hair. A piece of simplicity? Could she be beyond his reach?
With duty between,--yes; otherwise,--no! as all the doctor's experience
told him. And he walked leisurely past his own door, past the houses of
the village, on almost to the entrance of the woody road; then turned
and came with a brisker pace back. He still called himself a fool,
secretly; but he went into the library and wrote a letter. Which in
course of time was received and read by Mr. Linden between two of his
pieces of work.

It appeared the next day that Dr. Harrison had changed his mind, or his
plans, about going south; for he came as usual to see Faith. In every
sense as usual; to her astonishment no traces remained of the
yesterday's conversation. The ease and kindliness of his manner had
suffered no abatement, although a little touch of regretfulness, just
allowed to appear, forbade her to doubt that she had been understood.
Spite of herself, she could not help being presently again almost at
ease with h