第23章 BOOK II:AS SEEN BY DETECTIVE SWEETWATER(2)

"I have never allowed myself to think otherwise.I have seen no reason why I should.The suggestion you would convey by such a question is hardly welcome,now.I pray you to be careful in your judgment of such a woman's impulses.They often spring from sources not to be sounded even by her dearest friends."Just;but how cold!Dr.Heath,eyeing him with admiration rather than sympathy,hesitated how to proceed;while Sweetwater,peering up from his papers,sought in vain for some evidence of the bereaved lover in the impressive but wholly dispassionate figure of him who had just spoken.Had pride got the better of his heart?or had that organ always been subordinate to the will in this man of instincts so varying,that at one time he impressed you simply as a typical gentleman of leisure;at another,as no more than a fiery agitator with powers absorbed by,if not limited to the one cause he advocated;and again -and this seemed the most contradictory of all -just the ardent inventor,living in a tenement,with Science for his goddess and work always under his hand?As the young detective weighed these possibilities and marvelled over the contradictions they offered,he forgot the papers now lying quiet under his hand.He was too interested to remember his own part -something which could not often be said of Sweetwater.

Meantime,the coroner had collected his thoughts.With an apology for the extremely personal nature of his inquiry,he asked Mr.

Brotherson if he would object to giving him some further details of his acquaintanceship with Miss Challoner;where he first met her and under what circumstances their friendship had developed.

"Not at all,"was the ready reply."I have nothing to conceal in the matter.I only wish that her father were present that he might listen to the recital of my acquaintanceship with his daughter.He might possibly understand her better and regard with more leniency the presumption into which I was led by my ignorance of the pride inherent in great families.""Your wish can very easily be gratified,"returned the official,pressing an electric button on his desk;"Mr.Challoner is in the adjoining room."Then,as the door communicating with the room he had mentioned swung ajar and stood so,Dr.Heath added,without apparent consciousness of the dramatic character of this episode,"You will not need to raise your voice beyond its natural pitch.He can hear perfectly from where he sits.""Thank you.I am glad to speak in his presence,"came in undisturbed self-possession from this not easily surprised witness."I shall relate the facts exactly as they occurred,adding nothing and concealing nothing.If I mistook my position,or Miss Challoner's position,it is not for me to apologise.I never hid my business from her,nor the moderate extent of my fortune.If she knew me at all,she knew me for what I am;a man of the people who glories in work and who has risen by it to a position somewhat unique in this city.I feel no lack of equality even with such a woman as Miss Challoner."A most unnecessary preamble,no doubt,and of doubtful efficacy in smoothing his way to a correct understanding with the deeply bereaved father.But he looked so handsome as he thus asserted himself and made so much of his inches and the noble poise of his head -though cold of eye and always cold of manner -that those who saw,as well as heard him,forgave this display of egotism in consideration of its honesty and the dignity it imparted to his person.

"I first met Miss Challoner in the Berkshires,"he began,after a moment of quiet listening for any possible sound from the other room.

"I had been on the tramp,and had stopped at one of the great hotels for a seven days'rest.I will acknowledge that I chose this spot at the instigation of a relative who knew my tastes and how perfectly they might be gratified there.That I should mingle with the guests may not have been in his thought,any more than it was in mine at the beginning of my stay.The panorama of beauty spread out before me on every side was sufficient in itself for my enjoyment,and might have continued so to the end if my attention had not been very forcibly drawn on one memorable morning to a young lady -Miss Challoner -by the very earnest look she gave me as I was crossing the office from one verandah to another.I must insist on this look,even if it shock the delicacy of my listeners,for without the interest it awakened in me,I might not have noticed the blush with which she turned aside to join her friends on the verandah.It was an overwhelming blush which could not have sprung from any slight embarrassment,and,though I hate the pretensions of those egotists who see in a woman's smile more than it by right conveys,I could not help being moved by this display of feeling in one so gifted with every grace and attribute of the perfect woman.With less caution than I usually display,I approached the desk where she had been standing and,meeting the eyes of the clerk,asked the young lady's name.He gave it,and waited for me to express the surprise he expected it to evoke.But I felt none and showed none.Other feelings had seized me.I had heard of this gracious woman from many sources,in my life among the suffering masses of New York,and now that I had seen her and found her to be not only my ideal of personal loveliness but seemingly approachable and not uninterested in myself,I allowed my fancy to soar and my heart to become touched.