At that moment the Governor dropped her hands; extinguished the light in the room, opened the door a little wider, and strained his ear to catch the unusual sound that came in from the street below.
Helen Hinckley knew at once the meaning of the sound, and said: “I must not delay longer telling you the object of my call.”
As these two people (whose souls had sought each other through two other lives and failed utterly to find the other, from the simple fact that their material environments were such that their very souls had no power to break through the terrible prison house in which they seemed to be encased, and fly to the arms of its counterpart) stood in the dark doorway, Helen Hinckley told the Governor all that had happened between herself and Marriet Motuble.
It was the dearest moment of his life when he felt her warm breath upon his cheek, while she whispered the story in his ear.
“A strange creature, that Marriet Motuble; a very strange creature,” he whispered in reply.
“She is more daring now than in the other life. She is a woman to be avoided. When one is so constituted that the association with a person harms him, instead of doing him good, the best plan is to keep at a respectable distance, and do the person all the good possible from that distance. But hark! What is that?” she concluded, as she clutched the Governor’s arm in her fright.
They stepped out on the small balcony and both listened breathlessly.
The Governor replied: “It was the report of a gun. Ah, there is another, and another. Hark! the police are after them.”
“The Executive Mansion is well guarded by the soldiers. I do not believe that they will be able to enter the house. The unguarded moment is the dangerous time, your Honor,” said Helen Hinckley, as she stepped into the room and gently led the Governor with her.
“On the subject of guarding my house,” replied his Honor, “I gave strict orders that no extras should guard me or be placed around my property. It is my duty, as the official head of this great State, to protect the lives and property of private citizens. The officers of the law will do their duty if there be an uprising, which I can hardly believe will take place. I am not a coward. I will not run and leave my people to face the trouble alone.”