For no more than ten seconds had I gazed into her face , and the soul of her , the real woman behind the fair outwardness , had looked back into my eyes ; but I had never been able to forget it . When I returned home I questioned my cousins diplomatically as to who she might be . I felt strangely reluctant to do so -- it seemed in some way sacrilege ; yet only by so doing could I hope to discover her . They could tell me nothing ; nor did I meet her again during the remainder of my stay in Croyden , although I never went anywhere without looking for her , and haunted the pine valley daily , in the hope of seeing her again . My disappointment was so bitter that I laughed at myself . I thought I was a fool to feel thus about a girl I had met for a moment in a chance ramble -- a mere child at that , with her hair still hanging in its long glossy schoolgirl braid . But when I remembered her eyes , my wisdom forgave me . Well , that was ten years ago ; in those ten years the memory had , I must confess , grown dimmer . In our busy western life a man had not much time for sentimental recollections . Yet I had never been able to care for another woman . I wanted to ; I wanted to marry and settle down . I had come to the time of life when a man wearies of drifting and begins to hanker for a calm anchorage in some snug haven of his own . But , somehow , I shirked the matter . It seemed rather easier to let things slide . At this stage Peter came west . He was something in a bank , and was as round and jolly as ever ; but he had evidently changed his attitude towards girls , for his rooms were full of their photos . They were stuck around everywhere and they were all pretty . Either Peter had excellent taste , or the Croyden photographers knew how to flatter . But there was one on the mantel which attracted my attention especially . If the photo were to be trusted the girl was quite the prettiest I had ever seen .
`` Peter , what pretty girl 's picture is this XXXXX your mantel ? ''
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