Part 35 (1/2)

It was fully fifteen minutes--he thought it at least an hour--before Brant looked around. He had vowed to himself that he would give her all the silence she wanted, that he would not speak until she spoke. But after a time her absolute motionlessness struck him as caused by something even less flattering to himself than her desire for absence of speech.

”Confound it--I believe she 's gone to sleep!” he said to himself, and rose abruptly, to stand looking down at her, discomfited and very nearly angry. Of all the odd girls, one who would tell you to stop talking, and then go off to sleep in your presence, was certainly the oddest. He supposed she might be tired, and with reason, but--to go to sleep!

The shaded electric bulbs, which hung at each corner of the porch, at this moment came glowingly into life, as somebody within switched on the current. They were not designed to illuminate the porch strongly, only to turn its gloom into a mellow moonlight effect. But the light was quite sufficient to show Brant that although s.h.i.+rley's lashes still swept her cheek, her lips were smiling.

”It was a frightful test of your friends.h.i.+p, n't it?” she murmured, without opening her eyes. ”But you did n.o.bly. I never thought you could hold out so long!”

”You--rascal! I 'll wager you wanted to talk, yourself, after a while.”

”Of course I did. The minute a woman gets what she wants, she wants--something else.”

”What is it now? Me to go home?”

”How distrustful of yourself you are to-night!”

”That's the effect you usually have on me.” Brant drew up a chair.

”s.h.i.+rley,” he began again abruptly, ”do you know what I wish?”

”No.”

”Do you want to know it?”

”Not badly.”

”You don't care a straw for me, do you?”

”Several straws.”

”You do! I say----”

A door opened. Sophy said, deferentially, ”You 're wanted at the telephone, if you please, Miss s.h.i.+rley.”

s.h.i.+rley vanished. Brant rose and paced about the porch, waiting.

”Of course it's no use!” he said, discontentedly, to himself. ”I 've got as far as this forty times--and no farther. The next thing she did would be to throw a soaking wet blanket over me. I ought to be used to it. But she might at least take me seriously. She never does. It 's no good--this growing up with a girl and then trying to convince her that you mean anything when you speak!”

Inside, s.h.i.+rley was listening to a rapid fire of words which woke her up as thoroughly as anything had ever done in her life. They came in the voice of Peter Bell, a voice at once excited and controlled:

”s.h.i.+rley, the factory is on fire. I don't want father to hear about it--he 'd come down--you understand. Will you think up some way to get him off with yourself for the next hour? We 'll probably have to turn in a general alarm, and if we do, somebody 'll be sure to call him up and tell him. That 's all. I can count on you?”

”Yes--yes. Peter----”

But Peter was already gone. Evidently he had no time to spare for answering questions. s.h.i.+rley turned away from the telephone, thinking rapidly.

She knew that Mr. Joseph Bell was at home, for she had seen him, an hour earlier, training vines over the front porch. She understood that Peter had remained for late work at the factory office, as he so often did, although it was now nearly nine o'clock. And she knew well that it would never do for Peter's father to go down to the burning building--the excitement of a great fire at his own place of business would be the worst thing in the world for him.

Mr. Joseph Bell had kept steadily on at his work throughout the year, and nothing that Peter had feared had happened. It had been arranged somehow so that the most fatiguing part of his duties now came upon the broad shoulders of the son instead of the bent ones of the father. But it was as necessary as ever that there should be no sudden strain, either physical or mental, and it was this which she now must prevent.

Brant Hille, waiting impatiently outside, saw s.h.i.+rley fly back to him, and looked up at her with gratification. But her first words made him sit up, for she spoke in haste:

”Brant, is your car ready for a start?”

”Always is. Want to----”