He rose as she bowed, and, for a moment, I
thought that he was going over to speak to her, as if drawn by
that intangible attraction which Poe has so cleverly expressed in
his "Imp of the Perverse." For, clearly, one who talked as Whitney
had just been talking would have to be on his guard with that
woman. Instead, however, he returned her nod and stood still,
while Kennedy bowed at a distance and signalled to her that we
would be in the tea room directly.
I glanced up in time to see the anxious look on the face of Inez
change momentarily into a flash of hatred toward the Senora.
At the same moment Alfonso, who was on the other side of his
mother, turned from looking at a newsstand which had attracted his
attention and caught sight of us. There was no mistaking the
ardent glance which he directed at the fair Peruvian at my side. I
fancied, too, that her face softened a bit. It was only for a
moment, and then Inez resumed her normal composure.
"I won't detain you any longer," remarked Whitney. "Somehow, when
I start to talk about my--our plans down there at Truxillo I could
go on all night. It is marvellous, marvellous. We haven't any idea
of what the future holds in store. No one else in all this big
city has anything like the prospect which is before us.
Pages:
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152