He felt glad, at the first sight of her, that he was no
longer a youth but had fully come to man's estate, and had attained to
that command of nerve and conquest over a beating heart that is the
normal heritage of manhood. This thought came to him because he was so
vividly reminded of the hour in which he had once before sought an
interview with this lady--even holding her hand in his--and of his
ignominious repulse. In spite of the sadness of his heart, a smile
crossed his face, but it was gone before he met her. He had quite given
up wondering now about that seafaring episode, and accepted it only as a
fact. It did not matter to him why or how she had played her part; it
was enough that she had done it, and all that she did was right in his
eyes.
The lady's horse was walking slowly up the heavy hill; the reins she
hardly held, letting them loose upon its neck. It was evident that with
her there was no difference since the time she had last seen Caius; it
appeared that she did not even purpose stopping her horse. Caius stopped
it gently, laying his hand upon its neck.
"What is it?" she asked, with evident curiosity, for the face that he
turned to her made her aware that there was something new in her quiet
life.
It was not easy to find his words; he did not care much to do so
quickly. "I could not go on," he said, "without letting you know----" He
stopped.
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