She was a success--a pleasure in every
way--not only to her hosts but to herself. If there was a cloud hanging
over her head through all these days and nights, the world was none the
wiser; the silver lining was always visible.
Once while she was driving with the Bonners she saw a man whom she knew,
but did not expect to ever look upon again. She could not be mistaken in
him. It was Sam Welch, chief of the kidnapers. He was gazing at her from
a crowded street corner, but disappeared completely before Bonner could
set the police on his trail.
Commencement Day at Cambridge brought back hundreds of the old men--the
men famous in every branch of study and athletics. Among them was
handsome Tom Reddon. He came to see her at the Bonner home. Elsie Banks
was to return in September from Honolulu, and they were to be married in
the fall. Wicker Bonner eagerly looked for the confusion of love in her
eyes, but none appeared. That night she told him, in reply to an
impulsive demand, that she did not care for Reddon, that she never had
known the slightest feeling of tenderness for him.
"Have you ever been in love, Rosalie?" he asked ruthlessly.
"Yes," she said after a moment, looking him bravely in the eyes.
"And could you never learn to love any one else?"
"I think not, Wicker," she said ever so softly.
"I beg your pardon," he said humbly, his face white and his lips drawn.
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