de Barral)
and I have my little girl. I wanted nobody and I have never had
anybody."
A true emotion had unsealed his lips but the words that came out of them
were no louder than the murmur of a light wind. It died away.
"That's just it," said Flora de Barral under her breath. Without
removing his eyes from her he took off his hat. It was a tall hat. The
hat of the trial. The hat of the thumb-nail sketches in the illustrated
papers. One comes out in the same clothes, but seclusion counts! It is
well known that lurid visions haunt secluded men, monks, hermits--then
why not prisoners? De Barral the convict took off the silk hat of the
financier de Barral and deposited it on the front seat of the cab. Then
he blew out his cheeks. He was red in the face.
"And then what happens?" he began again in his contained voice. "Here I
am, overthrown, broken by envy, malice and all uncharitableness. I come
out--and what do I find? I find that my girl Flora has gone and married
some man or other, perhaps a fool, how do I know; or perhaps--anyway not
good enough.
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