You'll go nutty, married to a chap you
don't care for."
"But I am naughty, now."
"Not 'naughty'--nutty. You'll be perfectly miserable. There ought
to be a law against it. Let me call and talk it over, at least. I
know all about marriage--I've been around so many married people.
Promise?"
"I cannot let you 'call,' as you say. Besides, for two weeks yet I
must remain here alone with Stephanie." She regarded him
mournfully. "Every day I must do my penance, and think of my sins,
and--perhaps look for orchids."
He saw the light that flickered in the depths of her velvet eyes,
and his heart pounded violently at the unspoken invitation.
"To-morrow?" he inquired, breathlessly. "Do you intend to hunt
orchids to-morrow?"
Instead of answering she started to her feet with a little cry,
and he did likewise. Back of them had sounded an exclamation--it
was more like the snort of a wild animal than a spoken word--and
there, ten feet away, stood a tall, copper-colored negress, her
eyes blazing, her nostrils dilated, a look of utmost fury upon her
face. She was fully as tall as Kirk, gaunt, hook-nosed, and
ferocious. About her head was bound a gaudy Barbadian head-dress,
its tips erect like startled ears, increasing the wildness of her
appearance.
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