SON OF THE WIND
not the trace of a tear. In the dark light her cheek shone like a pearl. She was prettier than usual; prettier than ever! Had the Raders suffered hallucination or had he? Everything that had passed in the house appeared like a nightmare. He felt a rush of astonishment and delight. "Why, Blanche—my dear girl!" That was what she was to him! He was so grateful to her for not being a fountain.
She did not look up. His impression was she had not heard him. Yet he knew she was awake, her eyes open, their lashes winked. He put his hand over hers. The muscles did not stiffen, nor show any consciousness of his touch. She did not move. Her profile had a look of being fastened in an eternal attitude.
He sat down, pushing for room on the step, and put his arm around her. Her breathing made her insensibleness the more uncanny. "Blanche, what ails you? Speak to me!"
Her lips seemed to have lost the consciousness of everything they were made for, speech or kissing. But when he touched her cheek a shiver passed over her, and, as if she had felt the small wing of an insect, she brushed at him. He turned her face toward him and had the full look of her eyes, wide, dull and gray. He could not tell whether they saw him or not. A strange sensation!
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