"I want to talk with you about it. I haven"t decided yet, and I don"t want to leave you, but there"re so many things to think about."
Hertha"s voice was plaintive, for she was almost in tears.
"I suppose it"s that long-legged southern chap. Well, if it"s a man trying to get you away, there"s no hope for me. But how you can like that thin-nosed, sallow-faced son of a snuff-dipping mother is beyond me."
Kathleen did not see Hertha"s flushed cheeks, but she felt her silent protest. Remembering the words of the Major, the call of youth and springtime, she went back and again seated herself by Hertha"s side.
"It"s a shame they should be calling me out to-night and you and me needing a long talk together. But that"s my life and perhaps it"s lonely here for a young girl like you."
"I am lonely," Hertha declared, "when you are away."
It was the first time she had confessed to her dislike to be so much by herself. And while she said it she knew that though she might be timid at being alone she minded more being unable ever to get away from people. If she went to a boarding-house, perhaps she would never be really alone. The memory of the Merryvale household and its paying guests came back to her, and she tried to recall whether the northern women who stopped there were able to secure the privacy that she craved.
"With the summer, dear," Kathleen was saying, "I"m not likely to be away so much and there"s many good times we could have together. Away to the country, perhaps, for a Sunday, or down at the beach where the waves knock you off your feet one second and pound the breath out of you the next."
Hertha gave a little rueful laugh. "That must be jolly," she a.s.sented.
"And as for business schools that will fit you for a job in two months or two days, according to the cash you"ve got, there"s as many of them in New York, I"ll be bound, as in Brooklyn. You don"t have to cross the river to go to school."
"No."
"I asked Billy to bring one of the fellows who works where he does around with him next Sunday. He"s a nice little chap, though he doesn"t know a mockingbird from a jack rabbit."
"I don"t have to have young men around. I"m not going because of d.i.c.k Brown."
"Oh, so it"s settled then. Well, I wish you good-by."
The Irish girl rose and stood stiffly by the bed.
"It isn"t settled," Hertha cried, "I can"t settle things quickly. Oh, I do wish everything wasn"t so difficult."
"I must be going," said Kathleen. "Good-night."
Hertha dragged her friend toward her and threw her arms about her neck.
"If I do go to Brooklyn," she said, "I can still see you sometimes, and you"ll come to see me."
"There was a New York man once, Hertha, and he had two daughters, one lived in Australia and one in Brooklyn, and he made one visit in his life to each."
"That"s silly!"
"Perhaps. But it"s a big city, and if you leave here and go to foreign parts of it, I"m afraid it"s good-by."
"Well, it isn"t good-by for me, wherever I go." Hertha kissed her friend and held her close. "It"s never going to be good-by like that. I love you, Kathleen."
The older woman returned the embrace. "Play with your mates!" she heard in her ears. "Grasp whatever of happiness you can."
"Have you money?" she questioned.
"Yes, enough for my education."
"Oh, how will I ever get along with you away!"
And with this cry Kathleen put out the light and went away to a difficult and sorrowful night.
When she returned on Wednesday evening, s.n.a.t.c.hing a few hours from her hara.s.sing case, she hurried up the stairs and into the front room. One glance told her that her friend had left. The framed picture was there and the curtains that Hertha had bought and made herself. On the table was the magazine out of which she had read a story the week before; but the room was desolate, for in the alcove all the little things that belonged to a young girl"s dress were missing. The stiff, unnatural order of bed and bureau mocked the looker-on. Going into the kitchen, Kathleen saw a letter addressed to herself, but she made no attempt to read it. Wearily entering her bedroom, she changed her gown and more wearily returned to cook her dinner. The water hissed at her in the kettle as she set her solitary place.
"Why does everybody leave me just when I"ve learned to love them?" she asked herself. And, receiving no answer, she sat down in the rocker by the red geraniums and buried her face in her hands.
III
d.i.c.k
CHAPTER XXV
"What shall we do this evening?"
"I shall be studying."
"Oh, rot; don"t work so hard."
It was morning in mid-May and d.i.c.k Brown was standing in the hallway of Mrs. Pickens" boarding-house, his hat set back on his head, turning for the last word with Hertha before he left for his day"s task. It was a grief to him that they did not leave together; but, though she finished breakfast when he did, and had but a few minutes leeway beyond his time of departure, she was never ready when the minute came that he must go.
So he stopped this morning to ask his question, knowing the answer, since he had received it the night before, but anxious to hold the young girl in conversation before he turned into the engrossing world of business that drove her from his thoughts. And yet, even when he was most concentrated on some perplexing detail a.s.sociated with the handling of fancy tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, she would be back in his mind, far back where he might not turn to her and yet where, when the hour came that released him from the bondage of the city"s trade, she was present--her brown eyes, to his fancy, looking at him with more favor than they had yet shown.
"Well, good-by," he said, grasping the doork.n.o.b.
"Good-by," she answered, and turned upstairs to her room.
Whirled through the city and over the bridge, d.i.c.k tried to obliterate the image of the girl he loved and to turn to schemes of business. He was well aware that he had not yet caught her fancy, that she was not in the least in love with him, but he reckoned on his staying powers and on the fortune that some day he meant to lay at her feet. Any one so alone in the world as she, and she seemed singularly alone, must need a protector; and if he could only be patient and work diligently the time might come when she would accept a home filled with every conceivable thing to use, lovely as the "House Beautiful" rooms exhibited in the department stores, and where, when she had wandered through the many chambers and corridors, she would accept the man who stood upon the threshold eager to bring this, and more, of comfort and luxury and watchful care into her life. So he sat tense in his seat (he sometimes got a seat going in to his work) and began with resolute will to ponder the problem of business success. And as he pondered his face took on a shrewd and calculating expression at variance with his youthful frame and his bright, speckled necktie.
At noon he went into a restaurant frequented by many business men of the neighborhood and was greeted by an elderly gentleman at a table near the doorway who invited him to sit down. Like the firm for which he worked, this man was a dealer in tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, and d.i.c.k was elated at such a sign of favor. Perhaps it might lead to an opportunity for advancement. He took his place with some embarra.s.sment, however, not knowing whether this were an invitation to luncheon or only to a seat in which to have a friendly chat. Believing it wiser to a.s.sume the latter to be the case, he picked up the bill of fare and said in a loud voice, "I reckon you"ve ordered your grub."
Mr. James Talbert, whose modest sign on Broadway shone conspicuous among the plethora of foreign names, smiled good-humoredly and answered: "Not yet; I"m planning to order yours with mine. I don"t have a young man fresh from the Sunny South to dine with me every day."
Richard Brown laughed hilariously to hide the hurt to his pride. It was not the first time that it had been conveyed to him that he was fresh.
A weary, indifferent waiter received the order, and in a short time they were engrossed in disposing of an excellent and hearty meal.
As he became less absorbed in his chops and _saute_ potatoes, d.i.c.k looked about the room filled with tables where busy men were intent on fortifying themselves with food before they went back to their engrossing work. He noted their faces, their figures, and guessed at their professions. The tall, thin young fellow ahead was a clerk like himself--he could tell by the way he was trying to joke with his waiter.
There were newspaper men back of him; it was easy to determine them by their talk about this or the other "story." Moving down the aisle and returning his stare was a young, black-haired, dark-eyed Jew thrumming restlessly with his fingers. In business for himself, d.i.c.k guessed, and calculating on to-day"s gains and to-morrow"s expenditures. The young southerner wondered whether he would ever be able to do this, whether the day would come when he would have a business of his own.