be taken away! Central! Central! Can’t you give me long distance?”
Down the long flight of polished mahogany stairs heavy, reluctant footsteps could be heard approaching.
Patterson Greeves hung up the receiver with a click and wheeled around in his chair with an ashen look, listening.
“She’s coming now!” he exclaimed nervously. “I’ll have to do something. Bannard, if you’d just take that car of yours and go meet that train, I’ll be everlastingly obliged to you. If you don’t want to do it, let her get here the best way she can. It will give us that much more time. I’ve got to do something with Athalie at once!” He rose and went anxiously toward the door, opening it a crack and listening. The steps came on, slowly, and yet more slowly. The minister pitied his new friend from the bottom of his heart, and yet there was a humorous side to the situation. To think of a man of this one’s attainments and standing being afraid of a mere girl, afraid of two girls! His own children!
It was a simple matter, of course, to meet a train and tell the girl her father had been occupied for the time. The car slid briskly up to the curb in the street on time to the dot, and the minister turned pleasantly and picked up his hat.
“I’ll go. Certainly. What do you wish me to say to her?”
“Oh! Nothing. Anything! You’ll have to bring her here, I suppose! Make it as long a trip as possible, won’t you? I’ll try to clear the coast somehow!” He glanced down at the baggage of his younger daughter with a troubled frown. “There’s a carriage here—The servants will—Well, I’ll see what can be done. You’d better go quickly, please!” He looked nervously toward the door, and Bannard opened it and hurried out to his car, Athalie entering almost as he left, her eyes upon the departing visitor.
“Who was that stunning-looking man, Dad? Why didn’t you introduce me? You could have just as well as not, and I don’t want to waste any time getting to know people. It’s horribly dull in a new place till you know everybody.”
Chapter 5
A thalie entered with nonchalance and no sign of the recent tears. Her face had perhaps been washed and a portion of her makeup removed, but she still had a vivid look and her hair was more startling than ever, now that her rakish hat was removed. It stood out in a fluffy puffball, like a dandelion gone to seed, and gave her an amazing appearance. Her father stared at her with a fascinated horror and was speechless.
She had changed her traveling clothes for an accordion-pleated outfit of soft jade-green silk with an expansive neckline and sleeves that were slit several times from the wrist to shoulder and swung jauntily in festoon-like serpentine curves around her plump pink arms. She had compromised on a pair of black chiffon-silk stockings with openwork lace and black satin sandals with glittering little rhinestone clasps. A plantinum wristwatch and a glitter of jewels attended every movement of her plump pink hands with their pointed seashell fingertips, and a long string of carved ivory beads swung downward from her neck and mingled with the clutter of a clattering, noisy little girdle. No wonder he stared. And she had done all that while he was talking with the minister.
He stared, and her dimples began to come like a reminder of her mother in the old luring way, filling him with pain and anger and something worse than helplessness. Her mother’s face was not as full as hers, but the dimples went and came with such familiar play!
“Dad, you needn’t think you can keep me shut up away from things,” she said archly. “I’m going to know all your men friends and be real chummy with them. The men always like me. I’m like Lilla in that! They bring me stacks of presents and slews of chocolates. I’ve got a lot of going-away boxes in my trunks. Some of them are real jim-dandies. This watch is a present from Bobs. You know who Bobs is, don’t you? Bobs Farrell. He
Down the long flight of polished mahogany stairs heavy, reluctant footsteps could be heard approaching.
Patterson Greeves hung up the receiver with a click and wheeled around in his chair with an ashen look, listening.
“She’s coming now!” he exclaimed nervously. “I’ll have to do something. Bannard, if you’d just take that car of yours and go meet that train, I’ll be everlastingly obliged to you. If you don’t want to do it, let her get here the best way she can. It will give us that much more time. I’ve got to do something with Athalie at once!” He rose and went anxiously toward the door, opening it a crack and listening. The steps came on, slowly, and yet more slowly. The minister pitied his new friend from the bottom of his heart, and yet there was a humorous side to the situation. To think of a man of this one’s attainments and standing being afraid of a mere girl, afraid of two girls! His own children!
It was a simple matter, of course, to meet a train and tell the girl her father had been occupied for the time. The car slid briskly up to the curb in the street on time to the dot, and the minister turned pleasantly and picked up his hat.
“I’ll go. Certainly. What do you wish me to say to her?”
“Oh! Nothing. Anything! You’ll have to bring her here, I suppose! Make it as long a trip as possible, won’t you? I’ll try to clear the coast somehow!” He glanced down at the baggage of his younger daughter with a troubled frown. “There’s a carriage here—The servants will—Well, I’ll see what can be done. You’d better go quickly, please!” He looked nervously toward the door, and Bannard opened it and hurried out to his car, Athalie entering almost as he left, her eyes upon the departing visitor.
“Who was that stunning-looking man, Dad? Why didn’t you introduce me? You could have just as well as not, and I don’t want to waste any time getting to know people. It’s horribly dull in a new place till you know everybody.”
Chapter 5
A thalie entered with nonchalance and no sign of the recent tears. Her face had perhaps been washed and a portion of her makeup removed, but she still had a vivid look and her hair was more startling than ever, now that her rakish hat was removed. It stood out in a fluffy puffball, like a dandelion gone to seed, and gave her an amazing appearance. Her father stared at her with a fascinated horror and was speechless.
She had changed her traveling clothes for an accordion-pleated outfit of soft jade-green silk with an expansive neckline and sleeves that were slit several times from the wrist to shoulder and swung jauntily in festoon-like serpentine curves around her plump pink arms. She had compromised on a pair of black chiffon-silk stockings with openwork lace and black satin sandals with glittering little rhinestone clasps. A plantinum wristwatch and a glitter of jewels attended every movement of her plump pink hands with their pointed seashell fingertips, and a long string of carved ivory beads swung downward from her neck and mingled with the clutter of a clattering, noisy little girdle. No wonder he stared. And she had done all that while he was talking with the minister.
He stared, and her dimples began to come like a reminder of her mother in the old luring way, filling him with pain and anger and something worse than helplessness. Her mother’s face was not as full as hers, but the dimples went and came with such familiar play!
“Dad, you needn’t think you can keep me shut up away from things,” she said archly. “I’m going to know all your men friends and be real chummy with them. The men always like me. I’m like Lilla in that! They bring me stacks of presents and slews of chocolates. I’ve got a lot of going-away boxes in my trunks. Some of them are real jim-dandies. This watch is a present from Bobs. You know who Bobs is, don’t you? Bobs Farrell. He
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