"I"ll help you if I can, Mammy Blairsdale. What is it?"
"Kin yo" tell me who dat girl down yonder is?"
"Which girl?" asked Forbes, turning to look down the corridor.
"None yo" kin _see_. I means de one dat"s yonder at Miss Constance"s counter."
"Oh, that one? Why, she is a Miss Boggs, isn"t she?"
"No, she _ain"t_," contradicted Mammy, emphatically. "She may _call_ herse"f Miss Boggs if she wanter, but I"ll bait yo" she ain"t Miss Boggs no mo"n I"m Miss Brown! I"se seen dat girl somewhar"s else befo", an"
I"se gwine ter fin" more "bout her dan I knows now. She favors someone else I knows, an" I ain"t got er mite er use fer dat someone else, neider. Is yo" know Mr. "Lijer Sniffins?"
"The Fire Insurance Agent down on State Street?"
"Yas, sir, dat"s him I means."
"Yes, by sight, and enough to have him insure the few worldly goods I possess."
"He"s at dat counter de hull endurin" time, "specially when he git a notion Miss Constance gwine come down, and he"n dat girl jes" as thick as thieves."
"He and Miss Constance?" cried Forbes, aghast.
"Gawd bress ma soul, _no_, sir. I means dat Miss Boggs; an" what I wants ter fin" out is what fo" he got any call ter jist na"ch.e.l.ly live dar."
"Maybe it"s a charming romance right under your very eyes, Mammy Blairsdale. Surely you do not wish to play the kill-joy?"
"Kill-joy! Huh!" retorted Mammy. "I ain"t gwine be no fool, neider. I tells yo" I never _is_ like dat man, an" if he"s takin" ter pesterin"
dat girl he gotter quit; an" if "tain"t de girl it"s some other divilmint he got in his haid. I ain" trus" him no furder"n I kin see his shadder; no, I ain"."
"Has he been there when Miss Constance was at the counter?"
"If he ain"t bin dar, he bin whar he kin watch her "thout her s"pici"nin" it. Time"n agin I"se done seen him tip in dat men"s furnishin" Arch, Number Six, pertendin" lak he buyin" neckties an" all kynds ob fummadiddles. Reckon he do buy a heap, too, for he jes"
splurgin" fer fair dese days."
"Dare say he is trying to make a good impression upon the lady of his heart," laughed Forbes.
"D"ssay he tryn" fer ter mak" a "pression on someone else, an" he better quit if he knows what"s good fer him. Now, what dat girl scuttlin" down yonder fer?" was her quick exclamation. Over Forbes" shoulder she had caught sight of Miss Boggs hurrying down the corridor, ostensibly toward the lavatory.
"Candy makes her fingers sticky, Mammy Blairsdale," was Forbes"
half-idle comment as he turned to look over his shoulder in the direction of Mammy"s glance. At that very instant Miss Boggs" profile was distinctly outlined against the white marble wall behind her, and, strange coincidence, Elijah Sniffins, turning suddenly around the corner, came face to face with her. For a brief second each face was distinctly outlined, then the man and girl pa.s.sed their opposite ways.
But in that instant Forbes had received an impression swift as an electric shock. When he turned to look at Mammy, she remarked:
"Reckons yo" ain"t so near-sighted as dem gla.s.ses "ceivin" folks inter believin", sah."
"Where does Sniffins live, Mammy?"
"Don" know no mo"n de daid," scoffed Mammy.
"Where does _Miss Boggs_ live?"
"Bress de Lawd!" exclaimed the old woman, apparently apropos of nothing.
"Guess I"ll cut out the stroll up Mount Parna.s.sus and look after my insurance. I"m afraid I ought to renew that premium pretty soon.
Good-bye, Mammy Blairsdale. I"ll see you later."
"Good-bye, sah! Yas, sah, reckon yo" had better see me later."
With his package of luncheon and box of candies, and, as usual, leaving a trail of paraffin papers behind him, Forbes strolled out of the Arcade, incidentally noting that Sniffins was selecting cigars at the counter next Mammy"s. Once he was beyond the portals of the Arcade, his accustomed deliberation of air and manner fell from him, and with a muttered "I"ll learn what is back of all that or jump overboard" he sped along toward State Street at a rate which would have startled his friends had any chanced to meet him.
No one but the office boy was in Sniffins" office.
"Where"s Mr. Sniffins?" demanded Forbes.
"Dunno."
"When will he be back?"
"Dunno."
"What in thunder _do_ you know, then?"
"Nothin"."
"Right you are, son!" and turning Forbes pretended to leave the office.
Suddenly pausing, he whirled around to say:
"Give me Sniffins" home address; I"ll "phone to him there this evening."
It was a venture, but worth while.
"Six-twenty Westbank Road."
"Thanks. Good-day."
"Day," and the boy returned to the fascinations of "Tom, the Cow-puncher."
Then Forbes went his way up the mountains, having accomplished his object much quicker than he had hoped to. Had anyone been watching him, once he reached the summit, they might have questioned his sanity.
Deliberately placing his candy box and his luncheon upon a stump, he began pacing off distances: twenty long strides toward the river, then twenty at right-angles, pausing to peer toward the mighty stream flowing six hundred feet below him, for the cliffs were precipitous at that point.
"Good site. Magnificent view. Constant inspiration. Bound to succeed.
Purely cla.s.sical. This will emphasize the illusion. But it must not _prove_ an illusion; no, not for a moment. It will be a beautiful reality-a crystallized dream. We will set up our Lares and Penates in its very center-ahem! I mean-I mean-well I"ll try to persuade her to set hers up beside mine. Wonderful girl! extraordinary, very! Fell in with my idea at once-at least thought the plan-what was it she p.r.o.nounced it?
Ah, I recall, "truly altruistic." Truly altruistic. Yes, that was it.
Excellent choice of words. Invariably apt and to the point. Yes, the building shall face this way. Her window-my Lord!" and the monologue came to an abrupt end as the speaker, turning a vivid scarlet, made a grab for his edibles, and, seating himself upon a warm rock, began to devour his luncheon with the dispatch of the animal Mammy insisted he resembled. The sun was sinking into the West when Forbes came strolling up to Mrs. Carruth"s piazza, where the family had gathered for their afternoon tea which old Charles was serving. It was the delight of Charles" heart to serve this little repast.
This time it was iced tea and lemonade, with some of Mammy"s flaky jumbles and a box of Constance"s candy. That piazza was an inviting spot. Hammocks, lounging chairs and bamboo settees made it more than luxurious, and the family spent all the time possible in this corner, which seemed to catch every pa.s.sing breeze from the river.
They rose to welcome their guest and offer him refreshment. It was Eleanor who first reached him, and it was beside Eleanor he ensconced himself upon one of the pillow-laden settees.
"Where on earth have you been, you tramp?" asked Hadyn where he swayed idly back and forth in a hammock, Jean nestling beside him. Jean was never ten feet from Hadyn if she could help it. His arm encircled her, and her head rested against his shoulder as she watched Forbes. Jean was growing into a very beautiful young girl, though still a child at heart.