" And they gaily waved as they disappeared beyond the
bend of the trees. Then he spoke to his faithful Ivan. "In a quarter of
an hour let the blacks come round." And there was again the gleam of a
panther in his eyes as he glanced at the snow.
All this while Tamara, seated by the saloon stove, was almost growing
uneasy at being left so long alone. What could Olga be doing to stay
such a time?
Then the door opened, and the Prince came in.
"We must start now," he said, in a coldly polite tone. "The storm is
coming, and four persons made too heavy a load; so Lord Courtray and
Olga have gone on."
Tamara's heart gave a great bound, but his face expressed nothing, and
her sudden fear calmed.
He was ceremoniously polite as he helped her in. Nor did he sit too
near her or change his manner one atom as they went along. He hardly
spoke; indeed they both had to crouch down in the furs to shelter from
the blinding snow. And if Tamara had not been so preoccupied with
keeping her woollen scarf tight over her head she would have noticed
that when they left the park gate they turned to the right, in the full
storm, not to the left, where it was clearer and which was the way they
had come.
At last the Prince said something to the coachman in Russian, and the
man shook his head--the going was terribly heavy. They seemed to be
making tracks for themselves through untrodden snow.
Pages:
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185