III

A KINDNESS WITH MIXED MOTIVES


In the walk home through the gloom of the night Frank Ravenel thought of
many things not hitherto considered in his philosophy. The women whom he
had known had presented few complexities to him. That he should be
giving a second thought to Katrine Dulany seemed humorous; but the more
he resolved to put her from his thoughts the more vivid the memory of
her became. He recalled his emotion when their eyes first met, and the
remembrance brought again the tightening of the throat which he had on
the hilltop. He could feel the clinging pressure of the slender hand,
could hear again the voice like a caress, and her words, "You are
good--good--good!" kept repeating themselves somewhere in the recesses
of his brain to the tune of an old song.

"Good!" he ejaculated. "God, if she only knew!"

He had stated to his mother at the outset of the walk that he had no
plans; but in reality his summer had been fairly well arranged before
his return, lacking only a few set dates to fill the time till October.
The party at Ravenel would be over in a fortnight, and then--the thought
of another woman who loved him and a certain husband yachting on the
Mediterranean crossed his mind for an instant with annoyance and a
little shame.

The girl on the hill had had a more disturbing effect than any one that