Carrie protested that she was not so cold but that she could
easily wait till she reached her own fireside.
"Well, good-night, then," and the door was shut a trifle
emphatically.
"Mr. Marstern," said Carrie, sympathetically, "your feet must be
very cold and wet after splashing through all that ice-water."
"They are," he replied; "but I don't mind it. Well, if I had tried
for years I could not have found such a test of character as we
had to-night."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, well, you two girls did not behave exactly alike. I liked the
way you behaved. You helped me out of a confounded scrape."
"Would you have tried for years to find a test?" she asked,
concealing the keenness of her query under a laugh.
"I should have been well rewarded if I had, by such a fine
contrast," he replied.
Carrie's faculties had not so congealed but that his words set her
thinking. She had entertained at times the impression that she and
Lottie were his favorites. Had he taken them out that night
together in the hope of contrasts, of finding tests that would
help his halting decision? He had ventured where the intuitions of
a girl like Carrie Mitchell were almost equal to second-sight; and
she was alert for what would come next.
Pages:
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379