"I am going to Buffalo," she said.
"To Buffalo?"
"Yes."
This was alarming, surely. She was going to leave the town—leave it suddenly, without excuse or explanation!
Looking at her with eyes which, for all their intense inquiry, conveyed but little of the serious emotions that were agitating his mind, he asked, hurriedly:
"What takes you to Buffalo—to-day—so suddenly?"
Her answer was set and mechanical.
"I have had news. One of my—my friends is not well. I must go. Do not detain me."
And she moved quickly toward the gate.
But his tremulous hand was upon it, and he made no offer to open a passage for her.