II
THE SECRET DISCOVERED
Brake came no more. I said nothing to Elsie about his prohibition,
and his name was never mentioned. It seemed strange to me that she
should not speak of his absence, and I was very much puzzled by her
silence. Her moodiness seemed to have increased, and, what was
most remarkable, in proportion as she grew more and more reserved,
the intenser were the bursts of affection which she exhibited for
me. She would strain me to her bosom and kiss me, as if she and I
were about to be parted forever. Then for hours she would remain
sitting at her window, silently gazing, with that terrible, wistful
gaze of hers, at the west.
I will confess to having watched my wife at this time. I could not
help it. That some mystery hung about her I felt convinced. I
must fathom it or die. Her honor I never for a moment doubted; yet
there seemed to weigh continually upon me the prophecy of some
awful domestic calamity. This time the prophecy was not in vain.
About three weeks after I had forbidden Brake my house, I was
strolling over my farm in the evening apparently inspecting my
agriculture, but in reality speculating on that topic which
latterly was ever present to me.
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