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Beaufort had entered the little house with his usual easy assurance; but he could not smile away the vertical line between his eyes It was fairly clear that Madah her words to Archer had hinted at the possibility; at any rate, she had evidently not told hi when she left New York, and her unexplained departure had exasperated him The ostensible reason of his appearance was the discovery, the very night before, of a "perfect little house," not in thefor her, but would be snapped up instantly if she didn't take it; and he was loud inaway just as he had found it
"If only this new dodge for talking along a wire had been a little bit nearer perfection Imy toes before the club fire at this ru a real irritation under the pretence of it; and at this opening Madame Olenska twisted the talk away to the fantastic possibility that they ht one day actually converse with each other from street to street, or even--incredible dream!--from one town to another This struck froar Poe and Jules Verne, and such platitudes as naturally rise to the lips of the ainst ti with a new invention in which it would seeenuous to believe too soon; and the question of the telephone carried the house
Mrs van der Luyden had not yet returned; and Archer took his leave and walked off to fetch the cutter, while Beaufort followed the Countess Olenska indoors It was probable that, little as the van der Luydens encouraged unannounced visits, he could count on being asked to dine, and sent back to the station to catch the nine o'clock train; but et, for it would be inconceivable to his hosts that a gentleht, and distasteful to them to propose it to a person hom they were on terms of such limited cordiality as Beaufort
Beaufort knew all this, andjourney for so save the measure of his impatience He was undeniably in pursuit of the Countess Olenska; and Beaufort had only one object in view in his pursuit of pretty wo since palled on him; and in addition to more permanent consolations he was always in quest of amorous adventures in his own set This was the : the question hether she had fled because his importunities displeased her, or because she did not wholly trust herself to resist theht had been a blind, and her departure no more than a manoeuvre