But you must promise not
to come until then, for you would only make it harder."
It required all Dave's determination to force himself to obey her
wish, and the struggle nearly kept him from recalling the original
object of his visit. Remembering, he tried to tell Alaire what he
had learned from Phil Strange; but so broken and so unconvincing
was his recital that he doubted if she understood in the least
what he was talking about.
At last he took her hand and kissed her wrist, just over her
pulse, as if to speed a message to her heart, then into her rosy
palm he whispered a tender something that thrilled her.
She stood white, motionless, against the dim illumination of the
porch until he had gone, and not until the last sound of his motor
had died away did she stir. Then she pressed her own lips to the
palm he had caressed and walked slowly to her room.
XXII
WHAT ELLSWORTH HAD TO SAY
On his way to Brownsville the next morning Dave found himself
still somewhat dazed by his sudden happiness; the more he thought
of it the more wonderful it seemed. During the day he went through
his court duties like a man in a trance.
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