The shrubs and trees that had survived ten years
of neglect had been pruned and tied and would doubtless do well next
year, if Isabel--
"I hope he'll never find out," the Colonel said to himself. Then he
remembered that, for the first time in his life, he had lied to his son,
and took occasion to observe the highly spectacular effect of an untruth
from an habitually truthful person.
"He never doubted me, not for an instant," mused the Colonel, "but it's
just as well that I'm going. She could probably manage it, if we lived
in the same house, so that I'd have to tell at least one lie a day, and
I'm not an expert. Perfection might come with practice--I've known it
to--but I'm too old to begin."
He was deeply grateful to Francesca for her solution of the problem that
confronted him. It had appeared and been duly solved in the space of
half an hour. She had been his good angel for more than thirty years. It
might be very pleasant to live there, after he became accustomed to the
change, and with Allison so near--why, he couldn't be half as lonely as
he was now. So his thoughts drifted into a happier channel and he was
actually humming an old song to himself when he heard Allison's step,
almost at midnight, on the road just beyond the gate.
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