You--you are sort of like
a bird that is being charmed by a snake. It knows it ought to fly
away and yet it can't, because it's so interested in what the snake
is going to do next. Thane is attractive. He is, far as I know, a
gentleman. At any rate, he would pass for one, and that's about
all you can expect in these days. The thought has entered both our
minds that he put Sergeant out of the way. Well, my dear, I don't
believe either of us would ever dream of connecting him with it
if there wasn't something back in our minds that has been asking
questions of us ever since he came here. You say you were afraid
to read Mr. Blythe's letter again. Does that mean you are afraid
everything he says is true?"
"Oh, I can't believe it,--I must not allow myself to even THINK
it," cried the girl. "Why, if what Addison says is true, Courtney
Thane is not fit to--There must be some mistake, Aunt Nancy. There
were two men of the same name. _I_ WILL NOT BELIEVE IT!"
The two tall women stood tense and rigid, side by side, their backs
to the fire, gazing straight before them down the lamp-lit room.
"Has Addison Blythe any reason for lying to you, Alix?" asked the
elder quietly.
"Of course not," Alix answered impatiently. "There is some mistake,
that's all."
"Do you mind telling me what he says?"
"Mr. Thane is coming to see me tonight," said the girl, uneasily.
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