It taught me the value of
being explicit as to one's name. Here, you shall have the cup,
and I'll drink out of the bottle. Some of these fine days,
Woman-in-the-Woods, I shall take you on a jaunt with me and
Boris."
"It sounds promising," I admitted, cautiously.
"It is more. You shall learn all the fine points of out-of-door
housekeeping.--Drink your wine, Woman-in-the-Woods. You were pale,
very pale, when I came upon you. I was afraid something had been
troubling you."
"Something troubles everybody."
"Oh, bromidic Miss Smith!--Drink your wine, please. And do not look
doubtfully upon that sandwich. My man knows how to build them."
His man did. The sandwich was manna. The wine evidently came from
heaven.
"Now you have a color. I say, is Morenas going to do you, too?"
"Good gracious, no! But he has sketched Alicia a dozen times at
least."
"And me," said Mr. Jelnik, gloomily. "There's no evading the brute.
I turn like a weathercock; and there he is, with corrugated brow and
slitted eyes, studying me! And the baleful eye of The Author also
pursues me. Between them, I feel skinned."
"Mr. Morenas says you are a rare but quite perfect type," I told
him, mischievously.
Pages:
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196