Page:The Novels and Tales of Henry James, Volume 1 (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907).djvu/554

 "I 'm afraid it was easy for neither of us."

"And Roderick left you in — in irritation?"

"I offered him my company on his walk, but he would n't have me."

Mary paced to the end of the gallery and came back. "If he had gone to Engelberg he would have reached the hotel before the storm began."

Rowland felt himself suddenly break out. "Oh, if you like, he can start for Interlaken as soon as he comes back!"

But it was as if she were unconscious of his remark. "Will he come back early?" she pursued.

"We may suppose so."

"He 'll know how anxious we are, and he 'll start with the first light."

He was on the point of declaring that Roderick's readiness to throw himself into the feelings of others made this extremely probable; but he checked him self and said simply: "I expect him at sunrise."

She gave again, into the darkness round her, a long, strained stare and then went into the house. Rowland, it must be averred, in spite of his determination not to worry, found no sleep that night. When the early dawn began to tremble in the east he came forth again into the open air. The storm had completely cleared it, and the day gave promise of cloudless splendour. He watched the first sun-shafts slowly reach higher and remembered that if Roderick should not be back to breakfast there were two points to be made. One was the heaviness of the soil on the mountain-sides, saturated with the rain, which would make him walk slowly; the other 520