Chapter I

I

Price Ruyler knew that many secrets had been inhumed by the earthquake and fire of San Francisco and wondered if his wife‘s had been one of them. After all, she had been born in this city of odd and whispered pasts, and there were moments when his silent mother-in-law suggested a past of her own.

That there was a secret of some sort he had been progressively convinced for quite six months. Moreover, he felt equally sure that this impalpable gray cloud had not drifted even transiently between himself and his wife during the first year and a half of their marriage. They had been uncommonly happy； they were happy yet ... the difference lay not in the quality of Helene‘s devotion, enhanced always by an outspoken admiration for himself and his achievements, but in subtle changes of temperament and spirits.

She had been a gay and irresponsible young creature when he married her, so much so that he had found it expedient to put her on an allow

......
全部内容，请购买此书。