Then there came a silence, followed by the
opening of the second gate. Then, a sound like smothered
greetings, followed by quickly advancing steps and a voice she
knew:
"How is my father? Is he well? I cannot enter till I know."
It was Oliver!--come from some distant station, or from some other
line which he had believed unwatched. Tumultuous as her thoughts
were, she dared not indulge in them for a moment, or give way to
gratitude or any other emotion. There were words to be said--words
which must be uttered on the instant and with as much
imperiousness as his own.
Throwing the door wide, she called down the steps:
"Yes, he is well. Come in, Mr. Ostrander, and you, too, Mr. Black.
Instructions have been given me by the judge, which I must deliver
at once. He expects you, Oliver," she went on, as the two men
stepped in. "But not knowing when, he bade me say to you
immediately upon your entrance (and I am happy to be able to do
this in Mr. Black's presence), that much as he would like to be on
hand to greet you, he cannot see you to-night. You may wish to go
to him--but you must restrain this wish. Nor are you to talk,
though he does not forbid you to listen. If you do not know what
has happened here, Mr. Black will tell you, but for to-night at
least, and up to a certain hour to-morrow, you are to keep your
own counsel. When certain persons whose names he has given me can
be gotten together in this house, he will join you, giving you
your first meeting in the presence of others.
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