The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1932-01-08
CHAPTER IV-Continued

I'm glaQ you TOlQ me, ne SAID.
'sYou see I've never-oh, I've got on
all right with girls, mean regular
girls, the kind you meet, and like to
dance with them, and so on, but they
never seemed quite the real thing.
I'll tell you what I mean. When my
father died two years ago he had a
secretary who'd been with him good
many years. She was quite lot
older than 7 was, Of course, but she
wasn't so very old, at that. I mean
It wasn't age that made the differ
ence. / saw lot Of her at the time,
and she was different from any Of the
girls / knew. She was perfectly real
about everything. I thought she was
perfectly great. know father al
ways thought so.
=, swell, just as she did, can under
stand your wanting to take job your
self"
Edith was luxuriating in the sound
Of his voice. in the fact that he was
talking like this to her, he mature
man. senior in college. She was
thrilled through and through. but she
hadn't been exactly paying attention
to the words he said. The conse-
quence was that when he stopped
talking rather suddenly, the silence
was perfectly blank. She'd nothing
ready to say. and she couldn't think
of anything except what a dumb fish
she was not to be able to respond to
him with a single word. She was
aware that he was snatching a look
at his watch.
I've got to rum" he said. 'T've
stayed twice as long as I'd any busi-
ness to. told mother wouldn't be
gone but minute. I've got all my
packing to do. you know. I wish we'd
had this talk sooner. So that there'd
have been time. I mean, for us to
have aaother before went away"
He came around now to her side Of
the table and shook hands with her.
II wish you all kinds of luck" he
went on. "When come back In June
I'll come around here first thing and
get you to tell me what the Job Is
like and how it seems to have one"
He still had hold Of her hand. She
didn't know whether he meant to or
whether he was just waiting for her
to take hers away. She was SO con-
sclous of that, she couldn't think Of
anything else. Suddenly he seemed
to become conscious Of it, too, and
let go Of her.
She got up from her chair and fol-
lowed him out into the hall. He put
on his oyercoat. picked up his hat,
and then turned and held out his
hand again.
swell, good-by," he said.
A desolating sense came over her
that he was going now. That he'd be
gone before she could possibly think
Of anything to say that would keep
him from thinking Of her as per-
fectly dumb, hopeless little fool. She
felt she couldn't bear to let him go
like that. Involuntarily her hand
frightened its grip on his. She looked
up at him and drew In her breath
to speak, hoping the words would
come She found him looking at her,
right into her.
He didn't mean to-he wasn't going
to- But he did. He kissed her.
Not exactly on the mouth, just on the
corner Of it.
She couldn't. funnily enough, re-
member how the kiss felt at all. It
!, was the way he'd looked when his
Aface got back into focus-surprised,
pred. He'd done it without know
he was going to. And yet not
" or sentimental bit. There'd
en- pucker Of that adorable frown
! his between his brows as he turned
away.
Lots of people kissed you, Of course.
Some because they were just natural.
ly sappy and couldn't think of any
thing else. and some to be smart, to
show that they could get away with