The Opposite House: A Novel — page 163: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

158 The Opposite House. She must get out of doors, and had already seized her lace shawl and sunshade to prepare to go into the open air, when some one knocked at the door, and, to her great astonishment, Wikke appeared on the threshold. Heloise glanced angrily at him, but this melan- choly-looking fellow could not possibly have heard of Brand’s rascally trick, and the sorrowful glance with which he scanned the trunks and boxes had evidently not yet seen the flash of the diamonds, which his friend had doubtless carefully kept out of sight to turn into cash privately. This conciliated her, and put into her head a new idea, which she re- solved to execute. “Herr Wikke,’” she asked, approaching him, ‘how do Ihappen to have the honor of your visit with the mercury standing at eighty-six in the ther- mometer ?” “T’ve just met Brand,” he answered in a troubled tone, ‘‘and learned from him that you were going away, mademoiselle. I couldn’t believe it, and was obliged to convince myself in person whether the bad news could be trusted.” “That is very charming of you,” said Heloise, kindly, “and I rejoice to be able to assure you that I shall, perhaps, remain several days longer. It de- pends entirely upon my own whim, and whether my friends make my stay here agreeable. But sit Comicboook<s 5}