"Do you guess my thought?" he whispered. "Look at me and tell me if you
guess my thought."
The lawyer hesitated, eying well the trembling lip, the changing color,
the wide-open, deeply flushed eyes so near his own; then with a slow
smile of extraordinary subtlety, if not of comprehension, answered in
a barely audible murmur:
"I think I do. I may be mad, but I think I do."
The other sank back with a sigh charged with what the lawyer interpreted
as relief. Mr. Harper reseated himself, and for a moment neither looked
at the other, and neither spoke; it would almost seem as if neither
breathed. Then, as a bird, deceived by the silence, hopped to the window
sill and began its cheep, "cheep," Mr. Ransom broke the spell by saying
in low but studiously business-like tones:
"Have you thought it worth while to study the ground under her window or
anywhere else for footprints? It might not be amiss; what do you think
about it?"
"Let us go," readily acquiesced the lawyer, rising to his feet with an
honest show of alacrity; "after which I must telegraph to New York. I was
expected back to-day."
"I know it; but your duties there will keep; these here cannot. Your hand
on the promise that you will respect my secret till--well, till I can
assure you that my intuitions are devoid of any real basis.
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