Read Books Online, for Free |
III The Heart Of Man | Anna Katharine Green | |
XXXII Tell Me, Tell It All |
Page 1 of 4 |
The day was a grey one, the first of the kind in weeks. As Doris stepped into the room where Oswald sat, she felt how much a ray of sunshine would have encouraged her and yet how truly these leaden skies and this dismal atmosphere expressed the gloom which soon must fall upon this hopeful, smiling man. He smiled because any man must smile at the entrance of so lovely a woman, but it was an abstracted smile, and Doris, seeing it, felt her courage falter for a moment, though her steps did not, nor her steady compassionate gaze. Advancing slowly, and not answering because she did not hear some casual remark of his, she took her stand by his side and then slowly and with her eyes on his face, sank down upon her knees, still without speaking, almost without breathing. His astonishment was evident, for her air was strange and full of presage,- as, indeed, she had meant it to be. But he remained as silent as she, only reached out his emaciated hand and, laying it on her head, smiled again but this time far from abstractedly. Then, as he saw her cheeks pale in terror of the task before her, he ventured to ask gently: "What is the matter, child? So weary, eh? Nothing worse than that, I hope." "Are you quite strong this morning? Strong enough to listen to my troubles; strong enough to bear your own if God sees fit to send them?" came hesitatingly from her lips as she watched the effect of each word, in breathless anxiety. |
Who's On Your Reading List? Read Classic Books Online for Free at Page by Page Books.TM |
Initials Only Anna Katharine Green |
Home | More Books | About Us | Copyright 2004