Part 2 What Occurred in Glencaid Chapter 17 The Parting Hour

To Lieutenant Brant these proved days of bitterness. His sole comfort
was the feeling that he had performed his duty; his sustaining hope,
that the increasing rumors of Indian atrocity might soon lead to his
despatch upon active service. He had called twice upon Hampton, both
times finding the wounded man propped up in bed, very affable, properly
grateful for services rendered, yet avoiding all reference to the one
disturbing element between them.

Once he had accidentally met Naida, but their brief conversation left
him more deeply mystified then ever, and later she seemed to avoid him
altogether. The barrier between them no longer appeared as a figment
of her misguided imagination, but rather as a real thing neither
patience nor courage might hope to surmount. If he could have
flattered himself that Naida was depressed also in spirit, the fact
might have proved both comfort and inspiration, but to his view her
attitude was one of almost total indifference. One day he deemed her
but an idle coquette; the next, a warm-hearted woman, doing her duty
bravely. Yet through it all her power over him never slackened. Twice
he walked with Miss Spencer as far as the Herndon house, hopeful that
that vivacious young lady might chance to let fall some unguarded hint
of guidance. But Miss Spencer was then too deeply immersed in her own
affairs of the heart to waste either time or thought upon others.