"
They passed up the staircase side by side, exchanging no further
speech. Once she glanced furtively at his face, but its very calmness
kept the words upon her lips unuttered. At the door they encountered
Mrs. Guffy, her honest eyes red from weeping.
"This is Miss Gillis, Mrs. Guffy," explained Brant. "She wishes to see
Mr. Hampton if it is possible."
"Sure an' she can thet. He's been askin' after her, an' thet pretty
face would kape any man in gud spirits, I 'm thinkin'. Step roight in,
miss."
She held the door ajar, but Naida paused, glancing back at her
motionless companion, a glint of unshed tears showing for the first
time in her eyes. "Are you not coming also?"
"No, Miss Naida. It is best for me to remain without, but my heart
goes with you."
Then the door closed between them.
CHAPTER XVI
THE RESCUE OF MISS SPENCER
While Hampton lingered between life and death, assiduously waited upon
by both Naida and Mrs. Guffy, Brant nursed his burns, far more serious
than he had at first supposed, within the sanctity of his tent, longing
for an order to take him elsewhere, and dreading the possibility of
again having to encounter this girl, who remained to him so perplexing
an enigma.
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