Clancy had
gone North for an indefinite absence, and it looked as if their separation
were final. In vain she assured herself that it was best that they should
not meet again until both were satisfied that their paths led apart. She
knew that she had hoped his path would come back to hers--that in secret
she hoped this still, with a pathetic persistence which defied all effort.
She believed, however, that such effort was her best resource, for he was
again under the influences she most feared and detested. At times she
reproached herself for having been too reserved, too proud and passionate
in her resentment at his course. He had asked her to convince him of his
error if she could, and she had not only failed to make such effort, but
also had denied him the hope that would have been more than all argument.
Thus, at variance with her heart, she alternated between the two extremes
of anger at his course and regret and compunction at her own. As a rule,
though, her resolute will enabled her to concentrate her thoughts on daily
occupations and immediate interests, and it became her chief aim to so
occupy herself with these interests that no time should be left for
thoughts which now only tended to distress and discourage.
Mara was a girl who consciously would be controlled by a few simple
motives rather than by impulses, circumstances or the influence of others.
We have seen that loyalty, as she understood it, was her chief motive.
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