FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   66   67   68   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   >>  
ut she isn't to know! That's the point of the whole thing," he explained, with absurd simplicity. "Oh, my dear man, she isn't to know, but she _will_, ultimately. You don't suppose the secret of a woman's meal-ticket is hidden very long, do you? And, besides, you couldn't offer her enough to live on. That would be absurd on the very face of it." "Oh, well, I could offer her enough to help out a bit, anyway, and half a loaf you know...." He broke off, amazed at the determination her opposition had crystallized. She looked at him sharply and rose. "I must be running along," she commented as she drew on her gloves. "I tell you, I'll go call on Miss Robson--some day this week. A woman can always get a better side-light on a situation like this. There are so many angles to be considered. She must have relatives. You wouldn't want to make a false move, would you, now?" He was too grateful to be suspicious at this sudden compromise with her convictions. "You're tremendously good," he stammered. "It _will_ be a favor. And any time that I can...." "You can be of service to me right now," she interrupted, gaily. "Order me a taxi ... that's a good boy! I always do so like to pull up at a place in style." Stillman paid Lily Condor a third visit that week--this time in answer to the lady's telephone message. She had been to see Claire Robson and her report was anything but rosy. "Her mother's perfectly helpless and will be for the rest of her life," Lily volunteered almost cheerfully. "And, frankly, I don't see what is going to become of them. It seems that Mrs. Robson is a sister of Mrs. Tom Wynne and that dreadful Ffinch-Brown woman. They both have about as much heart as a cast-iron stove. Miss Robson didn't say so in words, but I gathered that she had called both of them off the relief job. I almost cheered when I realized that fact. I threw out a hint about there being a possibility of my needing an accompanist. I said Miss Menzies was ill and perhaps ... and I intimated that there was something more than glory in it." "And what did Miss Robson say to that?" "Oh, she was more self-contained than one would imagine under the circumstances. She said she would like to think it over. She put it that way on the score of leaving her mother alone nights. But, believe me, that young lady is more calculating than she seems. Of course I didn't mention terms or anything like that. I left a good loophole in case you
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   66   67   68   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   >>  



Top keywords:

Robson

 

mother

 

absurd

 

calculating

 

dreadful

 
sister
 

Ffinch

 

loophole

 

report

 
Claire

perfectly

 
helpless
 

frankly

 

nights

 

mention

 

cheerfully

 

volunteered

 

accompanist

 

message

 

needing


possibility

 

circumstances

 

Menzies

 

contained

 

intimated

 

imagine

 

leaving

 

gathered

 

called

 

relief


realized

 
cheered
 

convictions

 

opposition

 

crystallized

 
looked
 

determination

 

amazed

 

sharply

 

gloves


running

 

commented

 

ultimately

 

suppose

 

simplicity

 

explained

 
secret
 

couldn

 

ticket

 

hidden