The little officer was still in tow of Nora Black.
He was very enthusiastic. In French she directed
him to remain silent, but he did not appear to understand.
" You tell him," she then said to her dragoman,
" to sit in a corner and not to speak until I tell
him to, or I won't have him in here." She seemed
anxious to unburden herself to the old lady companion.
" Do you know," she said, " that girl has a
nerve like steel. I tried to break it there in that inn,
but I couldn't budge her. If I am going to have her
beaten I must prove myself to be a very, very artful
person."
" Why did you try to break her nerve ? " asked the
old lady, yawning. "Why do you want to have her
beaten ? "
" Because I do, old stupid," answered Nora. " You
should have heard the things I said to her."
"About what?"
" About Coleman. Can't you understand anything
at all?"
" And why should you say anything about Coleman
to her?" queried the old lady, still hopelessly befogged.
" Because," cried Nora, darting a look of wrath at
her companion, " I want to prevent that marriage."
She had been betrayed into this avowal by the singularly
opaque mind of the old lady. The latter at once
sat erect. - " Oh, ho," she said, as if a ray of light had
been let into her head. " Oh, ho. So that's it, is it ? "
"Yes, that's it, rejoined Nora, shortly.
The old lady was amazed into a long period of
meditation. At last she spoke depressingly.
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