He
never met a single soul. Only while walking softly along the corridor,
he became aware that the house was awake and more noisy than usual.
Names of servants were being called out down below in a confused noise
of coming and going. With some concern he noticed that the door of his
own room stood ajar, though the shutters had not been opened yet. He
had hoped that his early excursion would have passed unperceived. He
expected to find some servant just gone in; but the sunshine filtering
through the usual cracks enabled him to see lying on the low divan
something bulky, which had the appearance of two women clasped in each
other's arms. Tearful and desolate murmurs issued mysteriously from that
appearance. General D'Hubert pulled open the nearest pair of shutters
violently. One of the women then jumped up. It was his sister. She stood
for a moment with her hair hanging down and her arms raised straight up
above her head, and then flung herself with a stifled cry into his arms.
He returned her embrace, trying at the same time to disengage himself
from it.
Pages:
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405