He did not, however, believe this. He had every
reason to refuse the belief; and if he had had no other, this woman's
character was enough, it appeared to him, to give the lie to the
thought. A more intelligent view concerning that fleeting likeness was
that the two women were nearly related to one another, the younger in
charge of the elder; and that the younger, who had for some purpose or
prank played about in the waters near his home, must have lived in some
house there, must have means of communication with the place, and must
have acquainted Madame Le Maitre with his position when the need of a
physician arose. What was so dissatisfying to him was that all this was
the merest conjecture, that the lady whom he loved was a person whom he
had been obliged to invent in order to explain the appearances that had
so charmed him. He had not a shadow of proof of her existence.
The ice became strong, and bridged over the bay that lay within the
crescent of islands. All the islands, with their dunes, were covered
with snow; the gales which had beaten up the surf lessened in force; and
on the long snow-covered beaches there was only a fringe of white
breakers upon the edge of a sea that was almost calm.
The first visitor of any importance who came across the bay was the
English clergyman. Nearly all the people on Cloud Island were
Protestants, in so far as they had any religion.
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