"
It was not so much the presence of the dog or his inimical attitude
that troubled him now as the fact that Mrs. Strong opened the front
door without having been summoned by the bell. What did that signify?
But one thing: either she or some one else had been waiting and
watching for his arrival,--waiting behind the window curtains of
a darkened room!
"Well,--I'm damned!" he swore to himself, as the blood rushed
furiously to his head. For an instant he saw red. "Good Lord, what
have I done to deserve such a slap in the face as this? What can
be--But, what the devil's the matter with me? Of course, she's in
town! I must be going batty. Certainly she's in town. She--but, even
so, why should she have gone off like this without saying a word
to me about it? She didn't mention it last night. Not a word. And
she must have known then she was planning to spend the night,--why,
by gad, I wonder if she calls that being fair with me? Letting me
trail up here tonight, expecting--Any way you want to look at it,
it's rotten,--just plain rotten!"
CHAPTER XIV
SUSPICION
Early the next morning she called him up from the city. She
explained everything. The little daughter of her best friend had
fallen downstairs, injuring herself badly,--perhaps fatally. She
felt it her duty to remain with the distracted mother,--she hoped
he would understand.
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