"
Was the town dividing as to me? I was sure of Reverdy and Sarah, and
Douglas, and the president of the college and his wife, and some others;
but for the rest I suspected that envy had seized upon a pretext for its
exercise. For I was rich; I had availed myself of mowers and all the new
machinery for farming and I was a competitor, a man possibly growing
more and more in the way. My reception in many quarters seemed distant.
I went directly to the farm. There was my house which I had built with
many hopes. There was the hearth to which I longed to bring a wife. But
here it was, only for me, for my habitation and rest from labors in the
ambition to be rich! Mrs. Brown opened the door and welcomed me with a
diffidence. "Where is Zoe?" I asked. Mrs. Brown replied quickly: "Zoe
has not been seen nor heard of for more than a week. I got up one
morning, and as she didn't appear I went and called her. She was gone.
I saw Mr. Clayton about it. The last I heard no one had seen her."
My feelings were mixed of regret and relief. I was fond of Zoe. My sense
of justice was enlisted in her behalf. I was fearful for her future,
both for the misfortune that might befall her and for the complications
that might accrue to me in her living away from my guidance. For there
was Zoe's property. But on the other hand, if Zoe were completely out of
my life I might win Dorothy.
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