FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   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   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   >>   >|  
"She will make more use of him now," said Mr. Randolph. Ransom looked very glum. His mother rose, with the ladies, and went to the drawing-room. CHAPTER VII. A day or two after the birthday, it happened that Capt. Drummond was enjoying the sunshine in a way that gentlemen like to enjoy it; that is, he was stretched comfortably on the grass under the shade of some elm trees, looking at it. Perhaps it was not exactly the sunshine that he was enjoying, but the soft couch of short grass, and the luxurious warm shadow of the elms, and a little fanciful breeze which played and stopped playing, and set the elm trees all a flutter and let them be still, by turns. But Capt. Drummond was having a good time there, all by himself, and lying at length in a most lazy luxurious fashion; when he suddenly was "ware" of a fold of white drapery somewhere not very far from his left ear. He raised himself a little up, and there to be sure, as he had guessed, was Daisy. She was all alone too, and standing there looking at him. Now Capt. Drummond was a great favourite of Daisy's. In the first place he was a handsome fellow, with a face which was both gentle and manly; and his curly light-brown hair and his slight well-trimmed moustache set off features that were pleasant for man or woman to look upon. Perhaps Daisy liked him partly for this, but I think she had other reasons. At any rate, there she stood looking at him. "Can you command me, Daisy?" said the young officer. "Are you at leisure, Capt. Drummond?" "Looks like it!" said the gentleman rousing himself. "What shall I give you? a camp-chair? or will you take the--O! that is a better arrangement." For Daisy had thrown on the ground a soft shawl for a carpet, and took her place upon it beside Capt. Drummond, who looked at her in a pleased kind of way. "Are you quite at leisure, Capt. Drummond?" "Gentlemen always are--when ladies' affairs are to be attended to." "Are they?" said Daisy. "They ought to be!" "But I am not a lady." "What do you call yourself?" "I don't know," said Daisy gravely. "I suppose I am a little piece of one." "Is that it?" said Capt. Drummond laughing. "Well, I will give you as large a piece of my leisure as you can make use of--without regard to proportions. What is on hand, Daisy?" "Capt. Drummond," said Daisy with a very serious face,--"do soldiers have a very hard time?" "Not always. Not when they are lying o
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   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   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Drummond

 

leisure

 

Perhaps

 
luxurious
 
enjoying
 

sunshine

 
looked
 

ladies

 

rousing

 

partly


command
 

gentleman

 

reasons

 

pleasant

 

officer

 
attended
 

laughing

 

suppose

 

gravely

 
soldiers

regard

 
proportions
 

carpet

 

ground

 

arrangement

 

thrown

 

pleased

 
features
 

Gentlemen

 

affairs


stretched

 

comfortably

 

shadow

 

flutter

 

playing

 

stopped

 

fanciful

 

breeze

 

played

 

gentlemen


mother

 

Ransom

 

Randolph

 

drawing

 

birthday

 

happened

 
CHAPTER
 

handsome

 

fellow

 

favourite