itting dejectedly by a small table whereon a lamp
was burning. He had thrown off his coat and hat, for the atmosphere
indoors was almost stifling. He did not think of seeking rest, for,
though tired, he was not sleepy. It seemed to him that his affection for
the Major's daughter had grown immeasurably since darkness had fallen.
His thoughts had dwelt constantly upon her, and in his heart he had
called her many tender names, and had imagined his lips upon her hair,
and forehead, and cheeks, and mouth. He dropped his chin to his breast
and closed his eyes, his forehead showing deep furrows beneath the
straight black locks of overfalling hair. "Julia! Julia!" he said in his
mind; "don't treat me this way! I have served you faithfully from the
moment my eyes first saw you, and I have loved you almost as long.
Believe me, little girl, and let me know that you care for me, that I
may speak all that is in my heart. Julia! Julia!" Again and again the
single word throbbed through his mind, as though an imperishable record
was in his heart, and every beat thereof sent out the message on the
current of his blood. _What was that!_ He stopped breathing, but did not
open his eyes. He felt that she was near him! All in a moment he knew
that the cry of his heart had been answered. He heard steps, light
steps, barely audible through the closed door. They came
swiftly--tip-tip-tip-tip-tip-tip--up the stair--then silence.

He lifted his head and opened his eyes.

"Good God!" he cried, springing to his feet and overturning the chair in
which he sat. Then grasping the small table with both hands he leaned
across it and peered at the door, his face graying with each second that
passed. She stood there, looking at him, such terror in her eyes that it
made him tremble, absolutely fearless though he was. She wore a dark
dress, and a dark veil was wound about her head, leaving the white oval
of her face, with its terror-haunted eyes. The next moment she had
entered the room and shut the door behind her, and was coming towards
him like a sweet wraith. Yet he could say nothing. He had yearned for
her and called her in his soul, and she was before him now! There were
new lines upon his troubled face, for he could not understand. What
could it mean? It was past midnight; between one and two o'clock, he
knew. She was alone. These were his apartments. He slept in the one
where they now stood. She stopped within arm's length, pale and scared,
her larg