Ezra rose to his feet and staggered a little, as Madame perceived from the stumble he made. She seemed preternaturally acute, and to be able to understand by the help of some new sense, for she put out her hand and touched his arm, “Lean on me, brother, you are still giddy from your accident. We will walk very slowly.”
Ezra, feeling indeed faint enough, gratefully accepted the proffered help and put his hand within her arm; thus very slowly they started back towards the house through the inky black night. “Friend, what I said is to be locked in your breast, a secret,” said Madame.
“I fully understand that,” replied Ezra, “and I feel it a high honour that you should have chosen me as the repository of the secret of your life. It is safe, nay more, it is sacred, with me.”
It took them a long time in the intense darkness to reach Ezra’s house where a light was glimmering from the window. When they at length reached the bars, Madame said, “I will not go in. Oh, I know what you would say, but I would prefer not. Olive would resent my bringing you back to her.”
“You mistake Olive utterly,” said Ezra earnestly. “Believe me, hers is a simple nature, she would have no such feelings as you think.”
“Perhaps you are right, and that she is a child in mind and not yet a woman in heart. Possibly I endow her with feelings she could not even understand. I judge her by myself, and maybe all the while her little soul is possessed with nothing but content at the thought that her pretty hat is all safe. The butterfly must not be blamed if it does not rise as high as the lark. Farewell.”
Olive was waiting for him impatiently, anxiously.
“Oh Ezra, where have you been? And isn’t your face black? You are every whit as black as Napoleon Pompey. Wasn’t it fun?”
“Fun? What was fun?” asked Ezra languidly.
“Why, the fire of course, now that it is all over. It was so exciting. I was as hungry as a hawk when I came in. I really could not wait, so I had supper. You must have yours this very minute. Do you know, it is one o’clock at night, and you have not tasted a morsel of food since twelve o’clock yesterday? Do you realize that?”