FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   283   284   285   286   287   288   289   290   291   292   293   294   295   296   297   298   299   300   301   302   303   304   305   306   >>  
-love, she longed to share this with him and to have him know that she shared it; to put her arms around him and _make him let her in_. But she knew better now. She yearned over him silently, and did not touch him. "Well, good-bye, Paul," said Mr. Welles, shaking hands with him. "Well, good-bye," said Paul dryly, setting his jaw hard. "Oh, this is the day-coach!" cried Eugenia. "Where is the drawing-room car?" "At the far end," said the conductor with the sweeping gesture of a man used to talking with his arms. "Good-bye, Mr. Welles," said Eugenia, giving him for an instant a small, pearl-gray hand. "Boa voyage! Good luck!" "Same to you," said the old gentleman, scrambling up the unswept, cinder-covered steps into the day-coach. At the front end of the train, the baggage man was tumbling into the express car the fine, leather-covered boxes and the one square trunk. Neale carried Eugenia's two small bags down to the drawing-room car and now handed them to the porter. The two women kissed each other on both cheeks, hurriedly, as someone cried, "All aboard!" Eugenia took Neale's outstretched hand. "Good-bye, Neale," she said. With the porter's aid, she mounted the rubber-covered steps into the mahogany and upholstery of the drawing-room car. "Good luck, Eugenia! Bon voyage!" called Neale after her. She did not turn around or look back. * * * * * Marise noted that characteristically Eugenia had forgotten Paul. But Paul had forgotten her, too, and was now back near the day-coach searching one window after another. The conductor signaled widely, the whistle shrieked, the wheels groaned. Neale drew Marise a little back out of the whirl of dust and stood holding her arm for an instant. It seemed to Marise as they stood thus, Neale holding her arm, that she caught a last glimpse of Eugenia behind plate-glass, looking at them gravely, steadily. Paul suddenly caught sight of Mr. Welles' face at a window, snatched off his cap, and waved it frantically, over and over, long after the train was only an echoing roar from down the tracks. * * * * * Then the mountain-silence settled down about them calmly, and they could hear their own hearts beat, and knew the thoughts in their minds. As they went back to their battered Ford, Marise said thoughtfully, "Somehow I believe that it will be a long time before we see Eugenia again."
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   283   284   285   286   287   288   289   290   291   292   293   294   295   296   297   298   299   300   301   302   303   304   305   306   >>  



Top keywords:

Eugenia

 

Marise

 

covered

 

Welles

 
drawing
 

forgotten

 

instant

 

caught

 
holding
 

window


porter
 
voyage
 

conductor

 

glimpse

 

searching

 

signaled

 

widely

 

groaned

 

whistle

 

shrieked


wheels
 

thoughts

 

tracks

 

echoing

 

mountain

 

calmly

 
settled
 
silence
 

hearts

 
frantically

gravely

 

steadily

 
thoughtfully
 

Somehow

 

suddenly

 
battered
 
snatched
 

handed

 

talking

 

giving


gesture

 

sweeping

 

scrambling

 
unswept
 

gentleman

 
shared
 

longed

 

setting

 

shaking

 
yearned