Mr. Johnson felt a dull pang about the
region of his heart. If he had a secret, however, I do not
feel justified in betraying it.
"It was late," Mr. Billings continued, "before we returned to the
house. I had a special dread of again encountering Miss Ringtop,
but she was wandering up and down the bluff, under the pines,
singing, `The dream is past.' There was a sound of loud voices, as
we approached the stoop. Hollins, Shelldrake and his wife, and
Abel Mallory were sitting together near the door. Perkins Brown,
as usual, was crouched on the lowest step, with one leg over the
other, and rubbing the top of his boot with a vigor which betrayed
to me some secret mirth. He looked up at me from under his straw
hat with the grin of a malicious Puck, glanced towards the group,
and made a curious gesture with his thumb. There were several
empty pint-bottles on the stoop.
"`Now, are you sure you can bear the test?' we heard Hollins ask,
as we approached.
"`Bear it? Why to be sure!' replied Shelldrake; `if I couldn't
bear it, or if YOU couldn't, your theory's done for.
Pages:
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318