FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120  
121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   >>   >|  
would only end in Clara's making Ella more ridiculous than she was already. "Let me speak to her. I don't mind at all," she declared bravely, and in a manner truly, though she was fully aware that speaking to Clara would be anything but a treat. "Oh, would you?" said Ella eagerly. "I really would be awfully obliged. I hated to ask you, Flora, but I thought perhaps you might be able to--to, well, perhaps be able to do something," she ended vaguely. "Do you think you could?" "I'll speak to Clara to-night," said Flora heroically, "or to-morrow," she added; "I'm afraid I won't see her to-night." "Well, I'll let you know if it makes any difference," said Ella hopefully. Flora knew that nothing either of them could say would make any difference to Clara, or turn her from the thing she was pursuing; but by speaking she might at least find out if Judge Buller himself were really her object. And Ella's wail of assured calamity, "Papa has always been so happy with me," touched her with its absurd pathos. She kissed Ella's misty cheek at parting. It wasn't fair, she thought remorsefully, for people like the Bullers to be at large on the same planet with people like Clara--and herself--and--and like--Her thoughts ran off into the fog. At least, thank heaven, it was the judge Clara was trailing and not Kerr. The bells and whistles of one o'clock were making clangor as she ran up the steps of her house again. In the hall Shima presented her with a card. She looked at it with a quickening pulse. "Is he waiting?" "No, madam. Mr. Kerr has gone. He waited half an hour." Down went her spirits again. Yet surely after their last interview she ought not to be eager to meet him again. "In the morning," she thought, "and waited half an hour. How he must have wanted to see me!" She didn't know whether she liked that or not. "When did he come?" "At eleven o'clock." At this she was frightened; he had missed Harry by less than half an hour. "He waited all that time alone?" "No. Mr. Cressy came." Flora felt a cold thrill in her nerves. Then Harry had come back! What had he come for? "He also would wait," the Japanese explained. Flora gasped. "They waited together!" The Japanese shook his head. "They went away together." She didn't believe her ears. "Mr. Kerr went away with Mr. Cressy?" The Japanese seemed to revolve the problem of mastery. "No, Mr. Cressy accompanied Mr. Kerr." He had made a delicate orienta
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120  
121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

waited

 

Japanese

 

Cressy

 
thought
 
making
 

difference

 

speaking

 

people

 
spirits
 

surely


clangor
 

presented

 

waiting

 

quickening

 

looked

 

explained

 

gasped

 

thrill

 
nerves
 

accompanied


delicate

 

orienta

 

mastery

 

problem

 

revolve

 

wanted

 

morning

 

interview

 

missed

 

frightened


eleven

 

whistles

 
heroically
 

morrow

 

vaguely

 

afraid

 

declared

 
bravely
 
ridiculous
 

manner


eagerly

 
obliged
 

remorsefully

 

Bullers

 
parting
 
planet
 

heaven

 

trailing

 

thoughts

 

kissed