e City, walking
briskly with shoulders slightly shrugged before the keen wind. They
bowed to him with a certain reserve. He met one young girl carrying a
music-roll, who wore on her face an expression of joy so extreme that
it gave the effect of a light. Carroll noticed it absently, this
alien joy with which he had no concern. As the girl passed him, he
perceived a strong odor of violet from her dainty attire, and it
directly, although he was unaware of the connection, caused him to
remember the episode of his discovering the two women, Mrs. Van Dorn
and Mrs. Lee, spying out the secrets in his house. That same odor had
smote his nostrils when he entered the door. He reviewed from that
starting-point the succeeding stages of his stay in Banbridge, the
whole miserable, ignominious descent from a fictitious prosperity to
plain, evident disgrace and want. He was returning to his desolate
house. Martin had gone, wretchedly and plainly incredulous of
Carroll's promise to finally pay him every cent he owed him. Maria
had packed her box, and tied two gay foreign handkerchiefs into bags
to contain her ragged possessions. He was to be entirely alone. He
could remain in the house probably only for a short time, until the
owner should find a new tenant. He walked along with his head up,
retaining his old stately carriage. As he turned the street corner on
which his house stood, he saw a figure advancing, and his heart stood
still. He thought he recognized Charlotte, incredible although it
was, since he had just seen her depart on the train. But surely that
was Charlotte approaching, although she carried strange parcels. The
girl was just her height, she even seemed to walk like her, and she
surely wore a dress of which Charlotte was very fond. It was of a
dusky red color, the skirt hanging in soft pleats. The hat was also
red with a white wing. There was fur on the coat, and Carroll could
see the fluff of it over the girlish shoulders. He could see the
stiff white gleam of the wing. Then he saw who it was--Marie, with a
yellow handkerchief gathered into a bag in one hand, and a little
kitten which she had cherished, in a paper bag in the other. The
kitten's black head protruded, and it was mewing shrilly. Marie was
radiant with smiles, and she wore Charlotte's dress. She had stolen
up-stairs and viewed herself in the mirror in Mrs. Carroll's room,
and she had hopes of herself in that costume even without any money
in her pocket. Sh