He even
resisted the temptation to look back till it was too late. The gravel
path lay empty to the very gate of the park. She was gone--vanished. He
had an impression that he had missed some sort of chance. He felt sad.
That excited sense of his own conduct which had kept him up for the last
ten days buoyed him no more. He had succeeded!
He strolled on aimlessly a prey to gentle melancholy. He walked and
walked. There were but few people about in this breathing space of a
poor neighbourhood. Under certain conditions of life there is precious
little time left for mere breathing. But still a few here and there were
indulging in that luxury; yet few as they were Captain Anthony, though
the least exclusive of men, resented their presence. Solitude had been
his best friend. He wanted some place where he could sit down and be
alone. And in his need his thoughts turned to the sea which had given
him so much of that congenial solitude. There, if always with his ship
(but that was an integral part of him) he could always be as solitary as
he chose. Yes.
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