recognized the same dull desperation he had once heard in it, and her
eyes, which a moment before were quick and mobile, had become fixed and
set. He had no idea of trying to penetrate the foolish secret of her
name and relations; he had never had the slightest curiosity, but it
struck him now that Stratton might at any time force it upon him. The
only way that he could prevent it was to let it be known that, for
unexpressed reasons, he would shoot Stratton "on sight." This would
naturally restrict any verbal communication between them. Jack's ideas
of morality were vague, but his convictions on points of honor were
singularly direct and positive.


III.


Meantime Hamlin and Sophy were passing the outskirts of the town; the
open lots and cleared spaces were giving way to grassy stretches, willow
copses, and groups of cottonwood and sycamore; and beyond the level of
yellowing tules appeared the fringed and raised banks of the river.
Half tropical looking cottages with deep verandas--the homes of early
Southern pioneers--took the place of incomplete blocks of modern
houses, monotonously alike. In these sylvan surroundings Mr. Hamlin's
picturesque rusticity looked less incongruous and more Arcadian; the
young girl had lost some of her restraint with her confidences, and
lounging together side by side, without the least consciousness of any
sentiment in their words or actions, they nevertheless contrived to
impress the spectator with the idea that they were a charming pair of
pastoral lovers. So strong was this impression that, as they approached
Aunt Chloe's laundry, a pretty rose-covered cottage with an enormous
whitewashed barn-like extension in the rear, the black proprietress