His Other Wife: A Novel — page 61: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

MISSIONARY WORK. 53 hid from her, as he stood with his back between her and the table. But the glass presented the whole performance most vividly, and Mr. Croft’s countenance as well. Old Amy’s fox-like eyes fastened their keen scrutiny upon the dark face that fronted her in the mirror, It would have attracted the gaze of a less suspicious pair of eyes than the mulattress’; for the sad, dejected expression which for days had commanded the condolence of all who looked on it, had now given place to one of devilish glee that made the old woman hold her breath with fear of what lay hid behind that grinning mask. He had poured into a wine-glass a much sma//er quantity of the night-draught than Mrs. Croft was accustomed to take at intervals during the day. This he held balanced between his glittering eye and the lamp. Satisfied with the portion he had put into the glass, Mr. Croft recorked the vial, and, placing the glass upon the table, took from his vest pocket a tiny flask of crystal, which he had to unwrap from a quantity of tissue paper. As he took the glass stopple from this vial his fingers seemed to quiver intently, and the evil gleam grew more intense in his half-closed eyes. This vial emitted a singu- . lar odor that caused Mrs. Croft to say: ‘‘What.is burning, my dear?” ‘¢Only a scrap of linen, my love, that fell into the lamp by accident just now.” But Amy saw that no scrap of linen was anywhere to be seen near the lamp, and, furthermore, that her master had Eomicbooks, co |