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Books at bedtime.

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The sign of the four, chapter two.

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The statement of the case.

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Miss Morsland entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner.

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She was a blonde young lady, small, dainty, well-gruned and dressed in the most perfect

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taste.

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There was, however, a plainness and simplicity about her costume, which bore with it a suggestion

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of limited means.

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The dress was a somber, grayish beige, untrimmed and unbrated, and she wore a small

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turban of the same del hue, relieved only by a suspicion of white febber in the side.

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Her face had neither regularity of future nor beauty of complexion, but her expression

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was sweet and amiable, and her large blue eyes were singularly, the spiritually and sympathetic.

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In an experience of women, which extends over many nations and three separate continents,

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I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive

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nature.

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I could not but observe that as she took the seat which sheerl at Holmes placed for her,

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her lip trembled, her hand quivered, and she showed every sign of intense inward agitation.

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"I have come to you, Mr. Holmes," she said, "because you once enabled my employer, Mr.

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Cessel Forrester, to unravel a little domestic complication.

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You was much impressed by your kindness and skill."

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Mrs. Cessel Forrester, he repeated thoughtfully, "I believed that I was some slight service

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to her.

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The case, however, as I remember it, was a very simple one.

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She did not think so, but at least you cannot say the same of mine.

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I can hardly imagine anything more strange, more utterly inexplicable than the situation.

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In which I find myself."

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Holmes rubbed his hands and his eyes glistened.

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He leaned forward in his chair with an expression of extraordinary concentration upon his clear

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cut, "Hort-clike features."

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"State your case," he said, he, "an embrisk business tones."

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I felt that my position was an embarrassing one.

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You will, I am sure, excuse me, I said, rising for my chair.

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To my surprise, the young lady held up a club to hand to detain me.

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If your friend, she said, would be good enough to stop, he might be of an estimable service

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to me.

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I relapsed into my chair.

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Briefly, she continued, "the facts of these.

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My father was an officer in an Indian regiment who sent me home when I was quite a child.

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My mother was dead and I had no relative in England.

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I was placed, however, in a comfortable boarding establishment to Edinburgh, and there I remained

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until I was 17 years of age."

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In the year 1878, my father, who was a senior captain of his regiment, obtained twelve

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months leave and came home.

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He telegraphed to me from London, but he had arrived all safe and directed to me to come

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down at once, giving me Langham Hotel as his address.

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His message, as I remember, was full of kindness and love.

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On reaching London, I drove to the Langham and was informed that Captain Maustin was staying

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there.

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But he had gone out for the night before and had not yet returned.

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I waited all day without news of him.

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That night, on the advice of the manager of the hotel, I communicated with the police.

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And the next morning, we advertised in all the papers.

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Our enquiries led to no result, and from that day to this no word has ever been heard of

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my unfortunate father.

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He came home with his heart full of hope, to find some peace, some comfort, and instead,

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she put her hand to her throat, and choking a sob, cut short the sentence.

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The date asked Holmes opening his notebook.

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He disappeared upon the third of December 1878, nearly ten years ago.

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His luggage remained at the hotel.

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There was nothing in it to suggest a clue, some clothes, some books, and a considerable

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number of curiosities from the Andaman Islands.

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Yet been one of the officers in charge of the convict guard here.

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Had he any friends in town?

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Only one that we know of, Major Shulton of his own regiment, the 34th Bombay Infantry.

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The Major had retired some little time before and lived it up and forward.

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We communicated with him, of course, but he did not even know that his brother officer

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was in England.

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A singular case remarked Holmes.

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I have not yet described to you the most singular part.

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About six years ago, to be exact, upon the 4th of May 1882, an advertisement appeared

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in the Times, asking for the address of Miss Mary Morston, and stating that would be to

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her advantage to come forward.

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There was no name or address appended.

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I had at that time just entered the family of Mrs. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of

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Governors.

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By her advice, I published my address in the advertisement column.

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The same day, they arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which

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I found to contain a very large and mysterious pearl.

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No word of writing was enclosed.

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Since then, every year, upon the same date that has always appeared a similar box, containing

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a similar pearl, without any clue as to the sender.

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They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a very rare variety and of a considerable

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value.

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You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome.

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She opened a flat box as she spoke and showed me six of the finest pearls that I'd ever

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seen.

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"Your statement is most interesting," said Sherlock Holmes, "has anything else occurred to

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you?"

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"Yes."

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"And no later than today."

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"That is why I've come to you."

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This morning, I received this letter, which you will perhaps read for yourself.

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Thank you, said Holmes.

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The envelope, too, please, postmarked London's southwest date July 7th.

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Hmm, a man's thumb mark on the corner.

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Probably the postman.

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This quality paper envelopes at six-pence-a-packet, a particular man in his stationery.

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No address.

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"Be, at the third pillar, from the left, outside the Lyceum's theater, tonight at seven o'clock.

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If you are distrustful, bring two friends.

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You are a wronged woman and I shall have justice.

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Do not bring police.

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If you do, all will be in vain.

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Your unknown friend."

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"Well, really.

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This is a very pretty little mystery.

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What do you intend to do, Mrs. Morston?"

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"That is exactly what I want you to ask.

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Then we shall most certainly go.

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You and I, and yes, why?"

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"Dr. Watson, is the very man.

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Your correspondence says two friends.

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He and I have worked together before.

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"But would he come?" she asked, with something appealing in her voice of expression.

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"I should be proud and happy," said I fervently, "if I can be of any service."

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"You are both very kind," she answered.

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"I have led a retired life and I have no friends whom I could appeal to.

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If I am here at six, it will do, I suppose."

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"You must not be later," said Holmes.

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There is one other point, however, in this handwriting.

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The same as upon the Pearl Box addresses.

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"I have them here," she answered, "producing half a dozen pieces of paper."

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"You are certainly a model client.

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You have the correct intuition."

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Let us see now.

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He spread out the papers upon the table and gave little darting glances from one to the

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other.

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"They are disguised hands except the letter," he said pleasantly.

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But there can be no questioners to the authorship.

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Any how the irrepressible Greek E will break out and see the twirl of the final S. They are

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undoubtedly by the same person.

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I should not like to suggest false hopes, Miss Mauston, but is there any semblance between

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this hand and that of your father?

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Nothing could be more unalike.

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I had expected to hear you say so.

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We shall look out for you then, at six.

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Pray allow me to keep the papers.

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I may look into the matter before then.

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It is only half past three.

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"Aruvoire then."

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"Aruvoire," said our visitor.

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And with a bright kindly glance from one to the other of us, she replaced her Pearl Box

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in her bosom and hurried away.

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Standing at the window.

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I watched her walking briskly down the street until the great urban and white beather were

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but a speck in the somber crowd.

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What a very attractive woman I exclaimed turning to my companion.

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He had lit his pipe again and was leaning back with grouping eyelids.

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"Is she?" he said languidly.

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"I did not observe."

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"You really are an automaton, a calculating machine I cried.

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There is something positively inhuman in you at times."

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He smiled gently.

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It of the first importance he said not to allow your judgement to be biased by personal qualities.

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A client is to me, a me-unit, a factor in a problem.

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The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.

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I assure you that the most winning women ever I knew was hanged for poisoning three little

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children for their insurance money and the most repellent man of my acquaintances is a philanthropist

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who has spent nearly a quarter a million upon the London Paul.

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In this case, however, I never make exceptions and exception disproves the rule.

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Have you ever had occasions to study character in handwriting?

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What you make of this vellows' grivel?

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It is legible and regular, I answered.

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A man of business habits and some force of character.

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Holmes shook his head.

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"Look at his long letter," he said.

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"They hardly rise above the common herd.

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The D might be an A, and that I an E."

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Men of character always differentiate their long letters.

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However, elitably they may write.

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There is vacillation in this case and self-esteem in his capitals.

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I'm going out now.

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I have some few references to make.

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Let me recommend this book, one of the most remarkable ever penned.

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It is win-wids reads, "Marted him of man.

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I shall be back in an hour."

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I sat in the window with the volume in my hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring

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speculations of the writer.

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My mind ran upon our late visitor.

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Her smiles, the deep-rich tones of her voice, the strange mastery which overhung her life.

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If she was 17 at the time of her father's disappearance, she must be 7 and 20 now.

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A sweet age.

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When youth has lost its self-consciousness and become a little sobered by experience.

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So I sat and used until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my

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desk and plunged furiously into the latest treaties upon pathology.

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What was I?

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An army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking account that I should dare to think of such

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things.

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She was a unit of factor, nothing more.

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If my future were black, if it was better surely to face it like a man, then to attempt to

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brighten it by mere will of the wisps of the imagination.

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[BLANK_AUDIO]