And her expression sometimes! I tell you, Anna, that when I see
it, if I were a bird and could fly, gunshot could not catch me. I
see a summer before me! If there is ever a chance of my doing
_anything_, don't be shocked if I do it;" and in Harriet's eyes
there were two mysterious sparks of hope--two little rising suns.
"What did she mean?" pondered Miss Anna.
IV
"Barbee," said Judge Morris one morning a fortnight later, "what
has become of Marguerite? One night not long ago you complained of
her as an obstacle in the path of your career: does she still annoy
you with her attentions? You could sue out a writ of habeas corpus
in your own behalf if she persists. I'd take the case. I believe
you asked me to mark your demeanor on the evening of that party. I
tried to mark it; but I did not discover a great deal of demeanor
to mark."
The two were sitting in the front office. The Judge, with nothing
to do, was facing the street, his snow-white cambric handkerchief
thrown across one knee, his hands grasping the arms of his chair,
the newspaper behind his heels, his straw hat and cane on the floor
at his side, and beside them the bulldog--his nose thrust against
the hat.
Barbee was leaning over his desk with his fingers plunged in his
hair and his eyes fixed on the law book before him--unopened. He
turned and remarked with dry candor:
"Marguerite has dropped me."
"If she has, it's a blessed thing."
"There was more depth to her than I thought.
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