"I didn"t quite catch that," said his aunt, "but you needn"t bother to repeat it because I ain"t never goin" to let her go. Not never."
Jack came back and sat down beside the bed, and took her hand.
"Aunt Mary," he said in a pleading shriek, "don"t you see how pale and thin she"s getting?"
"No, I don"t," said his aunt, turning her head away, "an" it"s no use tellin" me such things because it"s about my nap-time and I"ve always been a great believer in takin" my nap when it"s my nap-time. As a general thing."
Jack sighed and watched her close her eyes and go instantly to sleep.
Janice came in a few minutes later.
"No-no," she whispered hastily, as he came toward her,-"you mustn"t-you mustn"t. I don"t believe that she really is asleep and even if she is, Lucinda is _everywhere_."
"Where can we go?" Jack asked in despair. "It"s out of all reason to expect me to behave _all_ the time."
"We can"t go anywhere," said Mrs. Rosscott; "we must resign ourselves.
I"ve learned that it"s the only way. Dear me, when I think how long I"ve been resigned it certainly seems to me that you might do a little in the same line."
"Well, but I haven"t learned to resign myself," said her lover, "and what is more, I positively decline to learn to resign myself. You should do the same, too. Where is the sense in humoring her so? I wouldn"t if I were you."
Janice lifted up her lovely eyes.
"Oh, yes, you would," she said simply. "If somebody"s future happiness depended upon her you would humor her just as much as I do."
Jack was touched.
"You are an angel of unselfishness," he exclaimed, warmly, "and I don"t deserve such devotion."
"Oh, don"t be too grateful," she replied, dimpling. "The person to whose future happiness I referred was myself."
They both laughed softly at that-softly and mutually.
"Nevertheless," Jack went on after a minute, "if to all the other puzzles is to be added the torture of being unable to see you or speak freely to you, I think the hour for action has arrived."
"For action!" she cried; "what are you thinking of doing?"
"This," he said, and straightway took her into his arms and kissed her as he had kissed her on the night before.
"Oh, if Lucinda has heard or your aunt has seen!" poor Janice cried, extricating herself and setting her cap to rights with a species of fluttered haste that led Jack to wonder suddenly why men didn"t fall in love with maids even oftener than they do. "I do believe that you have gone and done it this time."
"n.o.body heard and n.o.body saw," he a.s.sured her, but he didn"t at all mean what he said, for his prayers were fervent that his kiss had been public property.
And such was the fact.
Lucinda bounced in on Joshua with a bounce that turned the can of harness polish upside down, for Joshua was oiling the harnesses.
"He kissed her!" she cried in a state of tremendous excitement.
"Well, she"s his aunt, ain"t she?" Joshua demanded, picking up the can and privately wishing Lucinda in Halifax.
"I don"t mean her;-I mean Janice."
"I don"t see anythin" surprisin" in that," said Joshua,-"not if he got a good chance."
"What do you think of such goin"s on?"
"I think they"ll lead to goin"s offs."
"I never would "a" believed it," said Lucinda; "Well, all I can say is I wish he"d "a" tried it on me."
"You"ll wish a long time," said Joshua, placidly; and his tone, as usual, made Lucinda even more angry than his words; so she forthwith left him and tore back to the house.
Aunt Mary had also had her eyes open, and in this particular case it was impossible to have one"s eyes open without having one"s eyes opened. So Aunt Mary had both.
She shut them at once and reflected deeply, and when Janice went out of the room at last she immediately sat up in bed and addressed her nephew.
"Jack, what did you kiss her for?"
Jack was fairly wild with joy at the brilliant way in which he had begun.
Mrs. Rosscott had laid one scheme for the overthrow of Aunt Mary and her plan of attack had been absolutely successful. Now it was his turn and he, too, was in it to win undying glory or else-well, no matter. There wouldn"t be any "also ran" in this contest.
"You don"t deny that you kissed her, do you?" said his aunt severely.
"Answer this minute. I"m a great believer in answerin" when you"re spoken to."
"Yes, I kissed her," he said easily.
[Ill.u.s.tration 8]
"Aunt Mary had also had her eyes open."
"Well, what did you do it for?"
"I"m very fond of her;" the words came forth with great apparent reluctance.
"Fond of her!" said Aunt Mary with great contempt.
Jack lifted his eyes quickly at the tone of her comment.
"_Fond_ of her! Do you think a girl like that is the kind to be fond of!
Why ain"t you in _love_ with her?"
The young man felt his brains suddenly swimming. This surpa.s.sed his maddest hopes.
"Shall I say that I am in love with her?" he cried into the ear-trumpet.
Aunt Mary raised up in bed,-her eyes sparkling.
"Jack," she said, almost quivering with excitement, "_are_ you in love with her?"