FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   >>   >|  
working her way out of this unwelcome crowd, but to her amazement, no sooner had they been surrounded by the young roysterers than Phoebe, breaking her long silence, seized her sister by the hand and began laughing, dancing, and running with the best of them. To crown all, what was Rebecca's surprise to hear her sister singing word for word the madcap song of the others, as though she had known these words all her life. She did not even skip those parts that made Rebecca blush. It was incredible--monstrous--impossible! Phoebe, the sweet, modest, gentle, prudish Phoebe, singing a questionable song in a whirl of roystering Jerusalemites! Up the broad road they danced--up to the northward, all men making way for them as, with hand-bag and umbrella flying in her left hand, she was dragged forward on an indecorous run by Phoebe, who held her tightly by the right. On--ever on, past wayside inn and many a lane and garden, house and hedge. Over the stones and ruts, choking in clouds of dust. Once Rebecca stumbled and a great gawky fellow caught her around the waist to prevent her falling. "Lips pay forfeit for tripping feet, lass!" he cried, and kissed her with a sounding smack. Furious and blushing, she swung her hand-bag in a circle and brought it down upon the ravisher's head. "Take that, you everlastin' rascal, you!" she gasped. The bumpkin dodged with a laugh and disappeared in the crowd and dust, cuffing, pushing, scuffling, hugging, and kissing quite heedless of small rebuffs. When they had proceeded thus until Rebecca thought there was nothing left for it but to fall in her tracks and be trampled to death, the whole crowd came suddenly to a halt, and the young men began to erect the May-pole in the midst of a shaded green on one side of the main road. Rebecca stood, angry and breathless, trying to flick the dust off her bag with her handkerchief, while Phoebe, at her side, her eyes bright and cheeks rosy, showed her pretty teeth in a broad smile of pleasure, the while she tried to restore some order to her hair. As for her hat, that had long ago been lost. "I declare--I declare to goodness!" panted Rebecca, "ef anybody'd told me ez you, Phoebe Wise, would take on so--so like--like a--a----" "Like any Zanny's light-o-love," Phoebe broke in, her bosom heaving with the violence of her exercise. "But prithee, sweet, chide me not. From this on shall I be chaste, demure, and sober as an abbess in
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Phoebe

 

Rebecca

 

singing

 
declare
 
sister
 

suddenly

 
shaded
 

breathless

 

scuffling

 

pushing


hugging
 

kissing

 

heedless

 

cuffing

 

disappeared

 
rascal
 

bumpkin

 

dodged

 

everlastin

 
tracks

trampled

 
thought
 

rebuffs

 

proceeded

 

gasped

 

heaving

 

chaste

 
demure
 

abbess

 

violence


exercise

 

prithee

 

pretty

 

showed

 

pleasure

 

cheeks

 

handkerchief

 

bright

 

restore

 

goodness


panted

 

incredible

 

monstrous

 

impossible

 

modest

 

danced

 
northward
 

making

 

Jerusalemites

 

roystering