He 'spec's ter be gone a long time,
suh, en say prob'ly he ain' neber comin' back."
The man drove on. There were a few words exchanged in an undertone
between my wife and Mabel, which I did not catch. Then Annie said:
"Julius, you may stop the rockaway a moment. There are some
trumpet-flowers by the road there that I want. Will you get them for me,
John?"
I sprang into the underbrush, and soon returned with a great bunch of
scarlet blossoms.
"Where is Mabel?" I asked, noting her absence.
"She has walked on ahead. We shall overtake her in a few minutes."
The carriage had gone only a short distance when my wife discovered that
she had dropped her fan.
"I had it where we were stopping. Julius, will you go back and get it
for me?"
Julius got down and went back for the fan. He was an unconscionably
long time finding it. After we got started again we had gone only a
little way, when we saw Mabel and young Murchison coming toward us. They
were walking arm in arm, and their faces were aglow with the light of
love.
I do not know whether or not Julius had a previous understanding with
Malcolm Murchison by which he was to drive us round by the long road
that day, nor do I know exactly what motive influenced the old man's
exertions in the matter.
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