One thing did die that night--the devil of jeal-ousy
that had possessed me s°long ....
But I wonder sometimes--suppose I hadn't
made that initial mistake--the scar on the left
cheek--when really it was the right--reversed by
the mirror .... Should I have been so sure the
man was Charles Crawley? Would I have warned
Sylvia? Would she be married to me--or to him?
Or are the past and the future all one?
I'm a simple fellow--and I can't pretend to
understand these things--but I saw what I saw--and
because of what I saw, Sylvia and I are to-gether-in
the old-fashioned words--till death do
us part. And perhaps beyond ....
"Colonel Clapperton!" said General Forbes.
He said it with an effect midway between a
snort and a sniff.
Miss Ellie Henderson leaned forward, a strand
of her soft gray hair blowing across her face. Her
eyes, dark and snapping, gleamed with a wicked
pleasure.
"Such a soldierly-looking man!" she said with
malicious intent, and smoothed back the lock of
hair to await the result.
"Soldierly!" exploded General Forbes. He
tugged at his military mustache and his face
became bright red.
"In the Guards, wasn't he?" murmured Miss
Henderson, completing her work.
"Guards? Guards? Pack of nonsense. Fellow