FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74  
75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   >>   >|  
in order to prolong the interchange of wordless messages. Later in the day Helen was seated apart from the crowd in the rotunda. She wanted to get away from herself but there was no desire to seek companionship. Consequently she was annoyed at the sound of footsteps which evidently had her for an object. She was more annoyed when a chair was dragged from its position and thrust beside her own. She did not even turn her head when she heard a slump in the chair which testified that the intruder intended to maintain his position. With no preliminary cough, a rugged voice remarked: "Pretty considerable goin' on in these parts, if 'tis three thousand miles from nowhere, an' a hard road at that." Helen's annoyance vanished. She turned brightly to the old man. "Please excuse me. I didn't know who it was till you spoke." "If you know now, you've got the advantage 'o me, in one sense. I'm Uncle Sid Harwood, retired sea captain, at present cruisin' for pleasure." Helen bowed with sedate humor. "I'm Helen Lonsdale and nothing in particular." Uncle Sid Harwood surveyed his companion leisurely. "First time I ever found nothin' in particular worth while. You come from around here?" "Yes, I'm Californian, born and bred." "Glad to know it. I've been lyin' at anchor here some days lookin' for a pilot. I reckoned you knew the harbor. Met a young fellow by the name o' Berl?" "Elijah Berl?" Helen asked in surprise. "That's him." "Why yes, of course I have. He's president of the Las Cruces Irrigation Company." "Praisin' the Lord an' callyhootin' around like a sky rocket with its tail a-fire?" pursued Uncle Sid. Helen laughed at the apt though rather superficial analogy. "Yes, but he's not all fire and fizz after all. He is doing things worth while." "Don't doubt it." Uncle Sid spoke with conviction. "He always carried high steam, an' I guessed he'd do something, if he got hitched to an engine that would stand the pressure." "Wouldn't you like to see him? He's in the hotel now, I think. I'll send for him." Uncle Sid made no objections and Helen beckoned a waiter. "Please see if Mr. Berl is in his room and tell him he's wanted." "Eunice an' I thought maybe we'd see 'Lige. That's one reason why we came here instead o' somewhere's else. Eunice's my sister," Uncle Sid added. Before Helen had time to reply, she heard the quick beat of Elijah's feet on the floor. "That's him," Uncle Sid re
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74  
75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Harwood
 

wanted

 

Please

 
Eunice
 

Elijah

 

annoyed

 

position

 

laughed

 
pursued
 
rocket

object

 

superficial

 

things

 

analogy

 

prolong

 

callyhootin

 

surprise

 

messages

 

wordless

 
fellow

Company
 

Praisin

 
Irrigation
 

Cruces

 

interchange

 

president

 

carried

 
reason
 
evidently
 

thought


sister
 

Before

 

waiter

 

hitched

 

engine

 

guessed

 

pressure

 

objections

 

beckoned

 

Wouldn


conviction

 

reckoned

 

excuse

 
brightly
 

turned

 

annoyance

 

vanished

 

rugged

 

remarked

 

preliminary