"Perhaps," I said finally, "if you want it very much--"
"Very much!"
"And if you will sit quiet, and stop tapping your fingers together
until you drive me crazy, I might contrive it for you. For five
minutes," I said. "Not a second longer."
He came right over and put his arms around me.
"Who are you, anyhow?" he said. "You who turn to the world the frozen
mask of a Union Street boarding-house landlady, who are a gentlewoman
by every instinct and training, and a girl at heart? Who are you?"
"I'll tell you what I am," I said. "I'm a romantic old fool, and you'd
better let me do this quickly, before I change my mind."
He freed me at that, but he followed to the telephone, and stood by
while I got Lida. He was in a perfect frenzy of anxiety, turning red
and white by turns, and in the middle of the conversation taking the
receiver bodily from me and holding it to his own ear.
She said she thought she could get away; she spoke guardedly, as if
Alma were near, but I gathered that she would come as soon as she
could, and, from the way her voice broke, I knew she was as excited as
the boy beside me.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154