Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-22
ACROSS

much it was wortho Because you know /
shouldn't sell it, no matter what happened"
"You might be persuaded to pawn it,
though said John. "And l asked because
am thinking of going into the pawnbroking
business. Oh, only if you don't succeed in
finding what you're looking for at first and
times threaten to get bit hard. You would
let me do that much for you, wouldn't you,
Pamela? Because you know I'm rich,
really"
Il don't know very much more about you
than l do about myself, said Pamela with
a rueful little smile.
Well, she wasn't offended, anyway. And
here she was beside him, her coat sleeve
brushing his so that he could just barely
feel it! And the whole of a glowing, glorious
dav in front of them; for it was to be his
day, the rest of it! She'd promised him that.
W7HERE shall we go frst?" he asked. at
" isn't lunchtime.
She wanted to run over to "The Record
Herald Office, she said. She had an errand
there that wouldn't take a minute. And
then she'd be through.
He had his car waiting for them at the
curb outside, and the errand didn't take
much longer than Pamela said it would.
|
business office downstairs, and long before
he expected her saw her coming out again
with thick bundle of letters.
"Don't YOU want to read them?" he asked
as he dismounted and helped her in.
She looked at them obviously a don't
believe So" she said; mot for while, any
way. Are you ever cowardly enough, when
you expect a disappointment, to want to
put it off? don't suppose you are. But l
am this morning. I'd like good spin first.
He looked at his watch. "Have you had
a proper breakfast he asked, anything
more than just cup of coffee?'
Her smile was all the answer he needed.
"There's nothing like real food for that
wabbly, gone feeling you have when you've
got something ahead of you you don't quite
like to look at. And it's nearly twelve
o'clock, anyway. So lunch first, and then
the letters, and then the good long spin in the
open. How's that for program
"But lunch in the open too?" she asked.
as it possible here in Chicago?"
He thought half minute, then started
the car. "I've learned quite lot about this
town in the last week, he observed. "That's
easy"
So they drove across the Rush-st. Bridge
and over to the drive and north along the
shore, with the sparkling blue lake ruff1ing
up few minutes later at the Lincoln Park
Refractory.
"Now," he said, when he had her COM
fortably seated on the shady side of the bal,
cony overlooking the lagoon, "this will be
pretty good place to stand disappointment
in after you've had your lunch"
Certainly whatever the disappointment
was to be it cast no shadow ahead. They
were hardly more than a pair of children in
years, both of them in the first half of their
twenties; and though in many ways they
were unusually mature in self-reliance and
certain sorts of worldly knowledge and the
assumption of responsibilities, yet in this
one relation of man and maid they were as
fresh as children. The fine zest of it had
never been blunted for either of them by
furtive, surreptitious thoughts. They might
have been named Paul and Virginia.
So they looked at each other good DEAL
and laughed pretty easily, and the color
came and went, only to come surging back
again higher than ever in their fresh, young
faces. And once, when just by chance
their fingers touched, they fingered.