Part 43 (1/2)
With a supreme effort he pulled himself together and embraced the girl.
”Josie,” he said earnestly, ”I--I'm going to try to be a good husband to you.... And that,” he concluded, _sotto voce_, ”wasn't in the agreement!”
She held him to her pa.s.sionately. ”Dearest, I'm so glad!”
”It makes me very happy to know you are, Josie,” he murmured miserably.
And to himself, while still she trembled in his embrace: ”What a cur you are!... But I won't renege now; I'll play my hand out on the square, with her....”
Upon this tableau there came a sudden intrusion. The back door opened and Graham came in, Kellogg at his heels. It was the voice of the latter that told the two they were discovered: a hearty ”h.e.l.lo! What's this?” that rang in Nat's ears like the trump of doom.
In a flash the girl disengaged herself, and they were a yard apart by the time that Graham, blundering in his surprise, managed to turn on the lights at the switchboard. But even in the full glare of them he seemed unable to credit his sight.
”Why, Nat!” he quavered, coming out toward the guilty pair. ”Why, Nat...!”
Duncan took a long breath and Josie's hand at one and the same time.
”Mr. Graham,” he said coolly, ”I'm glad you're the first to know it.
Josie has just ask--agreed to be my wife.”
Old Sam recovered sufficiently to take the girl's hand and pat it. ”I'm mighty glad, my dear,” he told her. ”I congratulate you both with all my heart.”
”And so will I, when I have the right,” Kellogg added, smiling.
”Oh, I forgot.” Nat hastened to remedy his oversight. ”Josie, this is my dearest friend, Mr. Kellogg; Harry, this is Miss Lockwood.”
Josie gave Kellogg her hand. ”I--I,” she giggled--”I'm pleased to meet you, I'm sure.”
”I'm charmed. I've heard a great deal of you, Miss Lockwood, from Nat's letters, and I shall hope to know you much better before long.”
”It's awful' nice of you to say so, Mr. Kellogg.”
”And, Nat, old man!” Kellogg threw an arm round Duncan's shoulder. ”I congratulate you! You're a lucky dog!”
”I'm a dog, all right,” said Nat glumly.
”But we mustn't disturb these young people, Mr. Kellogg,” Graham broke in nervously.
”They'll--they'll have a lot to say to one another, I'm sure; so we'll just run along. I'm taking Mr. Kellogg up to the house, Nat. You'll follow us as soon as you can, won't you?”
”Yes--sure.”
”I've got some news for you, too, that'll make you happy.”
”Never mind about that; it'll keep till supper, Mr. Graham.” Kellogg laughed, taking the old man's arm. ”Good-bye, both of you--good-bye for a little while.”
”Good-bye...”
”Wasn't that terrible!” Josie turned back to Nat when they were alone.