Dawn Eleanor Porter (free novels to read txt) 📖

The girl flushed and drew back.

"Most certainly not, Susan! I—I am not in the habit of MAKING peoplesee me, when they don't wish to. Do you suppose I'm going to beg andtease: 'PLEASE won't you let me see you?' Hardly! He need not worry. Ishall not come again."

"Oh, Miss Dorothy!" remonstrated Susan.

"Why, of course I won't, Susan!" cried the girl. "Do you suppose I'mgoing to keep him from seeing other people just because he's afraidhe'll have to let me in, too? Nonsense, Susan! Even you must admit Icannot allow that. You may tell Mr. Keith, please, that he may feel nofurther uneasiness. I shall not trouble him again."

"Oh, Miss Dorothy!" begged Susan agitatedly, once more.

But Miss Dorothy, with all the hurt dignity of her eighteen years,turned haughtily away, leaving Susan impotent and distressed, lookingafter her.

Two minutes later Susan sought Keith in the living-room. Her wholeself spelt irate determination—but Keith could not see that. Keith,listless and idle-handed, sat in his favorite chair by the window.

"Dorothy Parkman jest rang the bell," began Susan, "an'-"

"But I said I'd see no one," interrupted Keith, instantly alert.

"That's what I told her, an' she's gone."

"Oh, all right." Keith relaxed into his old listlessness.

"An' she said to please tell you she'd trouble you no further, so youmight let in the others now as soon as you please."

Keith sat erect in his chair with a jerk.

"What did she mean by that?"

"I guess you don't need me to tell you," observed Susan grimly.

With a shrug and an irritable gesture Keith settled back in his chair.

"I don't care to discuss it, Susan. I don't wish to see ANY one. We'lllet it go at that, if you please," he said.

"But I don't please!" Susan was in the room now, close to Keith'schair. Her face was quivering with emotion. "Keith, won't you listento reason? It ain't like you a mite to sit back like this an' refuseto see a nice little body like Dorothy Parkman, what's been so kind—"

"Susan!" Keith was sitting erect again. His face was white, andcarried a stern anguish that Susan had never seen before. "I don'tcare to discuss Miss Parkman with you or with anybody else. Neither doI care to discuss the fact that I thoroughly understand, of course,that you, or she, or anybody else, can fool me into believing anythingyou please; and I can't—help myself."

"No, no, Keith, don't take it like that—please don't!"

"Is there any other way I CAN take it? Do you think 'Miss Stewart'could have made such a fool of me if I'd had EYES to see DorothyParkman?"

"But she was only tryin' to HELP you, an'—"

"I don't want to be 'helped'!" stormed the boy hotly. "Did it everoccur to you, Susan, that I might sometimes like to HELP somebodymyself, instead of this everlastingly having somebody help me?"

"But you do help. You help me," asserted Susan feverishly, working hernervous fingers together. "An' you'd help me more if you'd only letfolks in to see you, an'—"

"All right, all right," interrupted Keith testily. "Let them in. Leteverybody in. I don't care. What's the difference? But, please,PLEASE, Susan, stop talking any more about it all now."

And Susan stopped. There were times when Susan knew enough to stop,and this was one of them.

But she took him at his word, and when Mrs. McGuire came the next daywith a letter from her John, Susan ushered her into the living-roomwhere Keith was sitting alone. And Keith welcomed her with at least agood imitation of his old heartiness.

Mrs. McGuire said she had such a funny letter to read to-day. She knewhe'd enjoy it, and Susan would, too, particularly the part that Johnhad quoted from something that had been printed by the Britishsoldiers in France and circulated among their comrades in the trenchesand hospitals, and everywhere. John had written it off on a separatepiece of paper, and this was it:

Don't worry: there's nothing to worry about.

You have two alternatives: either you are mobilized or you are not. Ifnot, you have nothing to worry about.

If you are mobilized, you have two alternatives: you are in camp or atthe front. If you are in camp, you have nothing to worry about.

If you are at the front, you have two alternatives: either you are onthe fighting line or in reserve. If in reserve, you have nothing toworry about.

If you are on the fighting line, you have two alternatives: either youfight or you don't. If you don't, you have nothing to worry about.

If you do, you have two alternatives: either you get hurt or youdon't. If you don't, you have nothing to worry about.

If you are hurt, you have two alternatives: either you are slightlyhurt or badly. If slightly, you have nothing to worry about.

If badly, you have two alternatives: either you recover or you don't.If you recover, you have nothing to worry about. If you don't, andhave followed my advice clear through, you have done with worryforever.

Mrs. McGuire was in a gale of laughter by the time she had finishedreading this; so, too, was Susan. Keith also was laughing, but hislaughter did not have the really genuine ring to it—which fact didnot escape Susan.

"Well, anyhow, he let Mis' McGuire in—an' that's somethin'," shemuttered to herself, as Mrs. McGuire took her departure. "Besides, hetalked to her real pleasant—an' that's more."

As the days passed, others came, also, and Keith talked with them. Heeven allowed Dorothy Parkman to be admitted one day.

[Illustration: HE GAVE HER ALMOST NO CHANCE TO SAY ANYTHING HERSELF]

Dorothy had not come until after long urging on the part of Susan andthe assurance that Keith had said he would see her. Even then nothingwould have persuaded her, she told Susan, except the great hope thatshe could say something, in some way, that would set her right inKeith's eyes.

So with fear and trembling and with a painful embarrassment on herface, but with a great hope in her heart, she entered the room andcame straight to Keith's side.

For a moment the exultation of a fancied success sent a warm glow allthrough her, for Keith had greeted her