Part 6 (1/2)
”Of course!” interrupted Cora quickly, and Walter, hearing his name spoken, came hurrying up, from where he had stood joking and talking with the Robinson twins at their car.
”On the job, Jack, old man!” he exclaimed. ”Want me to hold your hand some more?”
”Wrenched my side a little at football,” Jack explained to his sister. ”It sort of eases it to lean against some one. The porter wanted to get me a pillow, but I'm not an old lady yet--not with Wally around.”
”Harry, think you'll be safe with two of them?” asked Walter, as he nodded at Bess and Belle.
”Oh, sure,” he answered with a laugh. ”If they promise not to rock the boat.”
”Perhaps he thinks we can't drive?” suggested Belle, mockingly.
”Far be it from me to so a.s.sume!” said Harry, bowing with his hand on his right side, and then quickly transferring it, after the manner of some stage comedian. ”I'd go anywhere with you!” he affirmed.
”Don't be ras.h.!.+” called Jack, who had taken his place in the tonneau of Cora's car. ”Come on, Walter. Leave him to his own destruction.
But, I say, Cora, what's this about some new girl? Has a pretty arrival struck town? If there has, I'm glad I came home.”
”It's just a poor Armenian lace peddler, who fainted from lack of food as she was talking to mother,” Cora explained.
”She isn't Armenian--she's Spanish, I'm sure of it,” declared Belle, for the cars had not yet started.
”Well, Spanish then,” admitted Cora.
”And she's so pretty!” put in Bess.
”Pretty! I suppose you'll be at home this evening, Jack, old chap?”
asked Walter, pretending to straighten his tie, and arrange his hair.
”Is her name Carmencita or Marita?” he asked.
”We don't know, yet,” Cora informed him. ”The poor child wasn't able to tell us much about herself.”
”Child!” exclaimed Jack. ”Oh, then she's a little girl! The Mater always was great on infant cla.s.ses.”
”Wait until you see,” advised Belle, loftily.
”You make me very curious!” mocked the invalided young man. ”Drive on, Cora, and let's get the suspense over with.”
Walter slipped in beside his chum, and put his arm about Jack's waist, for the wrench given Jack's side in a football scrimmage was far from healed, and often pained him severely. It was this direct cause, as much as anything else, that had pulled him down.
On the way to the Kimball home, Cora driving slowly and with careful regard for Jack's weakness, the sufferer told how he had ”keeled over” in a faint, while playing the last half of a hard game, and how the team physician had insisted on his being sent home.
”And the boys very kindly offered to come with me,” ended Jack.
”It's very good of them to spare the time,” said Cora, with a decidedly grateful look at Walter.
”As if we wouldn't!” he said, half indignantly.
And so the cars rolled on until they turned in at the gateway of the Kimball home.
”Is she any better, Mother?” asked Cora, when Jack's mother had kissed him, and held him off at arms' length to get a better look at him.