The Price He Paid — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

AT THE BALL, 87 therefore, be taken into due account. I have never lost sight of this, but my efforts have been directed to other aims.” ob eae you have attained, like everything else in life.” The baron was silent for a few seconds. His eyes rested with an enigmatical expression on the young girl’s face. At length he answered her: “T have attained much—not everything.” “Do you want to mount still higher?” asked Ga- brielle, in naive surprise. He smiled. “No; this time I should like to retro- orade twenty years.” : “But, tell me, why?” “That I might be young again. Ihave felt some- times of late that—Il am growing old.” The young baroness pointed jestingly to a great panneled mir- ror opposite them. “Look there, Uncle Arno, and dare to talk again of being old!” Raven followed the direction of her hand. There | in the clear glass he saw the distinct reflection of his image, the tall, commanding figure, in all the vigorous maturity of manly strength. He in- spected it with a certain satisfaction, not untinged by a slight secret uneasiness. “And yet I am close upon fifty,” he said slowly. “Do you know that, Gabrielle?” “Of course Ido. But why lay such stress on it? You certainly do not feel as yet any of the premoni- tory signs of age.” “for which very reason Iam sometimes tempted to forget the fact, and this, under given circum- stances, may be dangerous. You should be the last to encourage me in such a weakness,” Raven broke off suddenly ashe met the girl’s wondering, questioning gaze; his speech was evi- dently quite unintelligible to her. He turned away from the mirror, and went on in a lighter tone: “So you like living here with me, at the castle?” | “Oertainly, when all is bright and gay, as it is this evening,” declared Gabrielle. “But in the day- time the castle often seems to me very dismal and GoOmichboo gs) (E(@)