She could not possibly have known that the two men on that
little island were her neighbors in the village of Arden."
I made no answer. I was strangely excited. I had flown to an uninhabited
island to get away from Sylvia, and, if my conscience could be made to
work properly, to get away from all thoughts of her; and here I had met,
most unexpectedly and suddenly, with one who was probably the most
intimate connection of the girl from whom I was flying. I was amazed; my
emotion thrilled me from head to foot.
"It is just like women," remarked Walkirk, as we slowly walked toward
the house, "to put on disguises to conceal their identities, but they
have no respect for our identities. Without doubt, at this moment Mother
Anastasia is telling the lady of the house all about you and your
grandmother, your position in society, and the manner in which you were
furnished with a secretary from the House of Martha."
Still I did not reply. "Mother Anastasia!" I said to myself. "Here is a
gray-garbed sister transformed into a lovely woman. Why should not
another sister be so transformed? Why should not Sylvia be here, in soft
white raiment, with flowers and a broad hat? If one can be thus, why not
the other?" The possibility fevered me.
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