His eyes proclaimed the truth of what he said.
Leonard Lester and Carlos Conrad were distant cousins, and cherished a strong regard for each other. Carlos was the son of Anthony Conrad, who, years before, had married a Spanish girl. Her dark beauty had won the affection of the American, and they had lived together tenyears, when she died. The only fruit of the union was a boy, whom they named Carlos. He inherited the warm and voluptuous nature of his mother, and the firm and stable, though somewhat passionate, character of his father. And there was within him a vein of delicate sensibility, peculiarly his own, which added to the refinement of his nature, though it might at times render him weak and irresolute. A considerable portion of his life had been spent in Europe, near the home of his mother, and in other portions of the Continent.
His father had died but a few weeks before the time at which this chapter opens, and had charged Carlos with a mission which, as we have seen, he was about to undertake.
Leonard Lester was connected with a large importing house in New York. He had been abroad on business for the firm several times, and had met Carlos in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and other places. The cousins seemed to gravitate toward each other, and a warm affection sprang up between them.
On this occasion they were going together to the residence of Anthony Conrad’s brother, Colonel William Conrad, whose home was in the suburbs of the beautiful village of Dalton.
The steamer bumped against the dock, making everybody give an involuntary pitch forward, and was soon fastened to her moorings. The plank was thrown out, and the passengers thronged ashore.
Leonard and Carlos stood looking about for a moment, endeavoring to decide which way to turn.
“Shall we go to a hotel?” asked Leonard.
“Yes, by all means,” quickly responded Carlos. “We will not intrude on his hospitality until we know what our reception is to be.”
“It will be all right, I will venture,” said Leonard,cheeringly. “If you have proofs of what you are about to say, he surely will not be so unreasonable as to turn you off.”