Is she
a great lady? Come, tell me the story."
She unconsciously moved nearer to him with an air of pleasant
anticipation.
"Yes, it was a great lady, a very great lady who gave me the ring," he
said most seriously.
"And was I right in my other divination?" she asked, looking down and
flushing slightly. "Did--did she wish to marry you? But you need not
answer that question."
"I will gladly answer it," returned Max, leaning forward, resting his
elbow on his knees and looking at the ground between his feet. "I hoped
she did. I--I longed for it."
"Perhaps she possessed vast estates?" asked the girl, a slight frown
gathering on her brow.
"Yes, she possessed vast estates," said Max, "but I would gladly have
taken her penniless save for the fact that I am very poor, and that she
would suffer for the lack of luxuries she has always known."
"But how could the lady have felt sure you were not seeking her for the
sake of her estates?" asked Yolanda.
"She could not know," answered Max. "But I sought her for her own sake
and for no other reason."
"What manner of person was she?" asked Yolanda. "Was she dark or light,
short or tall, plain of feature or beautiful, amiable of temper or
vixenish? Was she like any one you have ever seen?"
She spoke in deep earnest and looked eagerly up to his face.
"She was beautiful of feature," answered Max. "Her eyes and her hair
were dark as yours are. She was short of stature, I have been told.
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