The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-04-10
CHAPTER Continued

Later, but not until an hour or two
later, going over the evening on foot,
as it were, he was able to surmise
that his cOmplacency over the appar-
ent success of this maneuver, getting
rid of both Lewis and Babe with a
single well-placed introduction, might
have had something to do with his dis
cOmfiture in the scene which followed
with Rhoda. She, of course, couldn't
have known how much deeper he'd
plunged into her affairs while she'd
been finishing out the dance with the
negligible Higgins. And it wasn't sur
prising if she'd felt when he came up
and took her arm, detaching her from
her most recent partner with barely
a word, that his manner was assum-
ing good deal too much, as if their
friendship had been matter of months
rather than of minutes. He'd been
entirely unconscious of this manner
at the time All he'd been thinking
of was the Importance of what he had
to tell her and of what she in return
would have to tell him.
He was aware that she looked at
him little oddly as he started to-
lead her away, and he explained his
action, adequately he felt by saying,
"We've got to find some place where
we can talk. Sha'n't we get out of
this? I'll take you home if you like"
At that she got rid of his hand
rather bruskly and turned to stare at
him, still half perpleXed but in rap
idly mounting evaporation.
Il don't want to get out of this"
she said. 81 came here to dance"
Before he could speak, she added,
more amiably, "We can talk now,
though, can't we? And look, there's a
place we can sit" The sofa she darted
off to take possession Of occupied per-
haps the most public place in that en-
tirely public dance hall, opposite the
head of one of the flights of the grand
staircase. "That is all right, isn't it,"
she asked.
81 suppose So" he agreed discon-
tentedly. "At least it's got it's back
to the wall and no one can hear what
we say without standing right in front
of us and listening"
"But what have we got to say" she
demanded, "that anybody shouldn't
hear?"
PLENTY" he told her. "Of course I
don't know how serious it is. You'll
know better than I. 1t sounded to me
like something you ought to be told
about"
Sounded? Do you mean you
heard people talking about me?"
81 think they were talking about
you. I'm practically sure they were"
His chain of differences had been
straight enough once, but it was tan
gled now. "I'll start with something
"Do you remember asking me why l
looked funny when you told me your
name was Rhoda, and my saying l had
an association with the name that /
couldn't spot? Well, 1 have spotted 1t
now. For the last week there's been
an advertisement in the personal col
umn of the News for the address of
Rhoda Mcfarland. The reason I'd
noticed it was that it was always a
blind ad; the advertiser, mean, never
giving his own name"
He had instinctively avoided look
ing at her while he was speaking, but
the quality of the silence after he'd
finished drew his eyes around to her
face He saw it deeply flushed.
SWELL" she asked as she encoun-
tered his gaze, sharpness that
sounded like panic audible in her voice,
'what has that got to do with me?"
He wanted to say, ''You are Rhoda
Mcfarland, aren't your" but his nerve
failed him. He didn't try to answer
her question.
"Was it Rhoda Mcfarland you heard
them talking about?" she asked at the
end of another silence, her voice now
In better control, land did you think
there couldn't be more than one per-
son named Rhoda?"
At last his mind was on the rails
again. Il didn't hear any name men
toned at all. I'll tell you what l did
HtdI. IHc man Sdlu, one TIE SlTl,
all right The woman asked him how
he knew. He said the girl was a
cagey little brat-meaning, l suppose
that she hadn't told him as much
about herself as he'd tried to find out
but that he had got her first name
That name, apparently, cinched it,
since the woman had already half
recognized your face-the girls face
/ mean"
She noted the slip and bounced upon
it angrily. "Why do you keep talking
about me? What makes you think it
has anything to do with me?"
Il heard the woman call him Max"
he went on doggedly. she was Max
Lewis, all right. l got look at him
later. / don't know who the woman
was. l didn't even see her properly.
1t came out in their talk that she'd
been going by on the sidewalk just
as-just as, this girl they were looking
for turned in. The woman thought
she recognized her, got hold of Lewis
somehow, and had him come to the
dance just to scrape an acquaintance
with you. l can't help it. / do think
it was you they meant. 1 knew he
told you his first name, but 1 didn't
know until then that you'd told him
yours"
81 didn't" she instantly put in, with
l. - Il