I beheld one cast in a more
faultless mold. Smooth-shaven, with every harmonious line open to
view, it struck the eye with the force and beauty of a cameo; masculine
strength and feminine grace equally expressed in the expansive forehead
and the perfectly modeled features. Its effect upon the observer was
instantaneous, but the heart was not warmed nor the imagination awakened
by it. In spite of the perfection of the features, or possibly because
of this perfection, the whole countenance had a cold look, as cold as
the sculpture it suggested; and, though incomparable in pure physical
attraction, it lacked the indefinable something which gives life and
meaning to such faces as Mayor Packard's, for instance. Yet it was not
devoid of expression, nor did it fail to possess a meaning of its own.
Indeed, it was the meaning in it which held my attention. Abstracted as
the man appeared to be, even to the point of not perceiving my intruding
figure in the open doorway, the thoughts which held him were not
common thoughts, nor were they such as could be easily read, even by an
accustomed eye. Having noted this, I softly withdrew, not finding any
excuse for breaking in upon a man so occupied.

The butler stood awaiting me not three feet from the door. But taking
a lesson from the gentleman I had just left, I ignored his presence
completely, and, tripping lightly up-stairs, found Mrs. Packard awaiting
me at the head of the first flight instead of the second.

Her fears, or whatever it was which moved her, had not diminished in
my absence. She stood erect, but it was by the help of her grasp on the
balustrade; and though her diamonds shone and her whole appearance
in her sweeping dinner-dress was almost regal, there was mortal
apprehension in her eye and a passion of inquiry in her whole attitude
which I was glad her husband was not there to see.

I made haste to answer that inquiry by immediately observing:

"I saw Nixon. He was just coming out of the library. He says that he
heard no laugh. The only other person I came upon down-stairs was Mr.
Steele. He was busy over some papers and I did not like to interrupt
him; but he did not look as if a laugh of any sort had come from him."

"Thank you."

The words were hoarsely uttered and the tone unnatural, though she tried
to carry it off with an indifferent gesture and a quick movement toward
her room. I admired her self-control, for it was self-control, and was
contrasting the