A voice told him this was Flora, after all - told
him so quietly, yet with a thrill of singing.
'And you never married?' said he.
'No, John; I never married,' she replied.
The hall clock striking two recalled them to the sense of
time.
'And now,' said she, 'you have been fed and warmed, and I
have heard your story, and now it's high time to call your
brother.'
'Oh!' cried John, chap-fallen; 'do you think that absolutely
necessary?'
'I can't keep you here; I am a stranger,' said she. 'Do you
want to run away again? I thought you had enough of that.'
He bowed his head under the reproof. She despised him, he
reflected, as he sat once more alone; a monstrous thing for a
woman to despise a man; and strangest of all, she seemed to
like him. Would his brother despise him, too? And would his
brother like him?
And presently the brother appeared, under Flora's escort;
and, standing afar off beside the doorway, eyed the hero of
this tale.
'So this is you?' he said, at length.
'Yes, Alick, it's me - it's John,' replied the elder brother,
feebly.
'And how did you get in here?' inquired the younger.
'Oh, I had my pass-key,' says John.
'The deuce you had!' said Alexander. 'Ah, you lived in a
better world! There are no pass-keys going now.'
'Well, father was always averse to them,' sighed John. And
the conversation then broke down, and the brothers looked
askance at one another in silence.
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