"Did you tell her who called?"
"Yes, sir."
The face of the young engineer was a puzzle to look at.
He refused to depart until the maid went once more to see her mistress.
On her return she brought a note from Rose, that was as great a puzzle to the engineer as was the curious acting of his betrothed.
"MR. BORDINE:—There can be no necessity for an interview. No explanation you can make will sunder the facts. I beg you not to come again, as, under no circumstances, will I consent to see you. Your coming now assures me that you have impudence as well as a double nature. R. ALSTINE."
The young man walked from the room like one in a dream.
What did, what could it all mean? It was impossible for August to understand.
His was a dejected mien as he walked slowly homeward. A pair of bright eyes watched him from a curtained upper window of the great house, and in a maiden's heart was the suddenest longing possible to one broken under the cruel treachery of its hero.
"What is the trouble, August?" questioned Mrs. Bordine the moment he entered the presence of his mother.