A little while longer he continued to dispute with me, until I hit
upon a word that silenced him.
"If I find you so averse to let me see the lady by herself," said
I, "I must suppose you have very good grounds to think me in the
right about her unwillingness."
He gabbled some kind of an excuse.
"But all this is very exhausting to both of our tempers," I added,
"and I think we would do better to preserve a judicious silence."
The which we did until the girl returned, and I must suppose would
have cut a very ridiculous figure had there been any there to view
us.
CHAPTER XXVIII--IN WHICH I AM LEFT ALONE
I opened the door to Catriona and stopped her on the threshold.
"Your father wishes us to take our walk," said I.
She looked to James More, who nodded, and at that, like a trained
soldier, she turned to go with me.
We took one of our old ways, where we had gone often together, and
been more happy than I can tell of in the past. I came a half a
step behind, so that I could watch her unobserved. The knocking of
her little shoes upon the way sounded extraordinary pretty and sad;
and I thought it a strange moment that I should be so near both
ends of it at once, and walk in the midst between two destinies,
and could not tell whether I was hearing these steps for the last
time, or whether the sound of them was to go in and out with me
till death should part us.
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