The Puritan had arisen, with quiet and grave courtesy, to receive his
visiter; but obvious, powerful, and extraordinary interest gleamed
about his usually subdued visage, when, as the features of the other
were exposed to view, he recognised the person of the man who advanced
to meet him.
"Mark Heathcote," said the stranger, "my visit is to thee. It may, or it
may not, prove longer than the last, as thou shalt receive my tidings.
Affairs of the last moment demand that there should be little delay in
hearing that which I have to offer."
Notwithstanding the excess and nature of the surprise which the veteran
Mark had certainly betrayed, it endured just long enough to allow those
wondering eyes, which were eagerly devouring all that passed, to note
its existence. Then, the subdued and characteristic manner, which in
general marked his air, instantly returned, and with a quiet gesture,
like that which friends use in moments of confidence and security, he
beckoned to the other to follow to an inner room. The stranger complied,
making a slight bow of recognition to Ruth, as he passed her on the way
to the apartment chosen for an interview that was evidently intended to
be private.
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