There was a little knoll covered with evergreen oaks at the end of
the lawn. It was a picturesque spot, for on one side the bank went
off into a sheer precipice of about eighty feet in depth, at the
bottom of which a pretty pool lay, that in the summer time was
fringed with white water-lilies. I had thought of building a
summer-house in this spot, and now my steps mechanically directed
themselves toward the place. As I approached I heard voices. I
stopped and listened eagerly. A few seconds enabled me to
ascertain that Hammond Brake and my wife were in the copse talking
together. She still followed him, then; and he, scoundrel that he
was, had broken his promise. A fury seemed to fill my veins as I
made this discovery. I felt the impulse strong upon me to rush
into the grove, and then and there strangle the villain who was
poisoning my peace. But with a powerful effort I restrained
myself. It was necessary that I should overhear what was said. I
threw myself flat on the grass, and so glided silently into the
copse until I was completely within earshot. This was what I
heard.
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