It 's no wonder she ran away , poor girl . She is n't used to seeing strangers . '' `` I 'm rather glad if that was the sole reason of her flight , '' said Eric . `` I admit I did n't like to see any girl so frightened of me as she appeared to be . She was as white as paper , and so terrified that she never uttered a word , but fled like a deer to cover . '' `` Well , she could n't have spoken a word in any case , '' said Mrs. Williamson quietly . `` Kilmeny Gordon is dumb . '' Eric sat in dismayed silence for a moment . That beautiful creature afflicted in such a fashion -- why , it was horrible ! Mingled with his dismay was a strange pang of personal regret and disappointment . `` It could n't have been Kilmeny Gordon , then , '' he protested at last , remembering . `` The girl I saw played on the violin exquisitely . I never heard anything like it . It is impossible that a deaf mute could play like that . '' `` Oh , she is n't deaf , Master , '' responded Mrs. Williamson , looking at Eric keenly through her spectacles . She picked up her knitting and fell to work again . `` That is the strange part of it , if anything about her can be stranger than another . She can hear as well as anybody and understands everything that is said to her . But she ca n't speak a word and never could , at least , so they say . The truth is , nobody knows much about her .
Janet and Thomas never speak XXXXX her , and Neil wo n't either .
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