"
Elsie dared not meet his eyes; a flood of understanding had suddenly
poured its miraculous waters over her. Incidents unimportant in
themselves, utterances which seemed to have no veiled intent at the
time, rushed in upon her with overwhelming conviction. Christobal
suspected her of flirting with Courtenay, and disapproved of it as
strongly as she herself had condemned Isobel's admitted efforts in the
same direction. Though not a little dismayed, she resolved to carry
the war into the enemy's territory.
"Why are you looking so glum, Dr. Christobal?" she demanded. "Has the
captain's quip given you a shock, or is it that you are surprised at my
levity?"
"I am neither shocked nor surprised, Miss Maxwell. I have not lived
fifty years in this Vale of Tears without being prepared for the
unexpected."
"Does that imply that you are disillusioned?"
"By no means. My heart is amazingly young. 'There is no fool like an
old fool,' you know."
"Oh, please don't speak of age in that way. You are far from being an
antiquity. Why, within the past twenty-four hours I have come to look
on you as a sort of elder brother, who can be indulgent even while he
chides.
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