友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
读书室 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

children of the whirlwind-第38部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!


〃You'll cut out your comic…supplement stuff in just one second;〃 Barney warned her。 〃We both saw young Sherwood awhile ago as he was leaving the Grantham; and he told us everything!〃

Persiflage did indeed fail Maggie。 〃Everything?〃 she exclaimed。 〃What's everything?〃

〃He told us about proposing to you almost a week ago; and about your refusing him。 And you lied to uskept us sitting round; wasting our timeand all the while you've been double…crossing us!〃

Those visitors from South and West; especially the women; who a few nights before on the roof had regarded Barney as the perfect courtier; would not have so esteemed him if they had seen him at the present moment。 He seized Maggie's wrists; and all the evil of his violent nature glared from his small bright eyes。

〃Damn you!〃 he cried。 〃Jimmie; she's yours; and a father's got a right to do anything he likes to his own daughter。 Give it to her proper if she don't come across with the truth!〃

Jimmie stepped closer to her and bared his yellow teeth。 〃I haven't given you a basting since you were fifteenbut I'll paste you one right in the mouth if you don't talk straight talk!〃

〃You hear that!〃 Barney gritted at her。 He believed there was justice in his wrathas indeed there was; of a sort。 〃Think what Jimmie and I've put into this; in time and hard coin! We've given you your chance; we've made you! And then; after hard work and waiting and our spending so much; and everything comes out exactly as we figured; you go and throw us downnot just yourself; but us and our rights! Now you talk straight stuff! Tell us; why did you refuse Sherwood when he proposed? And why did you tell me that lie about his not proposing?〃

Maggie realized she was in a desperate plight; with these two inflamed gazes upon her。 Never had she felt so little of a daughter's liking for Old Jimmie as now when she looked into his lean; harsh; yellow… fanged face。 And she had no illusions about Barney。 He might love her; as she knew he did; but that would not be a check upon his ruthlessness if he thought himself balked or betrayed。

Just then her telephone began to ring。 She started to move toward it; but Barney's grip checked her short。

〃You're going to answer menot any damned telephone! Let it ring!〃

The bell rang for a minute or two before it stilled its shrill clamor。 Its ringing was in a way a brief respite to Maggie; for it gave her additional time to consider what should be her course。 She realized that she dared not let Barney believe at this moment that she had turned against him。 Again she fell back upon her cool; self…confident manner。

〃You want to know why? The answer is simple enough。 I thought I might try out an improvement of our plansomething that might suit me better。〃

〃What's that?〃 Barney harshly demanded。

〃Since Miss Sherwood fell for me so easy; it struck me that she'd be pretty sure to fall for me if I told her the whole truth about myself。 That is; everything except our scheme to play Dick for a sucker。〃

〃What're you driving at?〃

〃Don't you see? If she forgave me being what I am; and I rather think she would; and with Dick liking me as he doeswhy; it struck me as the best thing for yours truly to marry Dick for keeps。〃

〃What?〃 Though Barney's voice was low; it had the effect of a startled and savage roar。 〃And chuck us over…board?〃

〃Not at all。 If I married Dick for keeps; I intended to pay you a lump sum; or else a regular amount each year。〃

〃No; you don't!〃 Barney cried in the same muffled roar。

〃Perhaps notI haven't decided;〃 Maggie said evenly。 〃I've merely been telling you; as you requested me; why I did as I did。 I refused Dick; and lied to you; so that I might have more time to think over what I really wanted to do。〃

Instinctively she had counted on rousing Barney's jealousy in order to throw him off the track of her real thoughts。 She succeeded。

〃I can tell you what you're going to do!〃 Barney flung at her with fierce mastery。 〃You're not going to put over a sure…enough marriage with any Dick Sherwood! When there's that kind of a marriage; I'm going to be the man! And you're going to go right straight ahead with our old plan! Dick'll propose again if you give him half a chance。 And when he does; you say 'yes'! Understand? That's what you're going to do!〃

There was no safety in openly defying Barney。 And as a matter of fact what he had ordered was what; in the shifting currents of her thoughts; the steady momentum of her old ambitions and purposes had been pushing her toward。 So she said; in her even voice:

〃You waste such a lot of your good energy; Barney; by exploding when there's nothing to blow up。 That's exactly what I'd decided to do。 Miss Sherwood has asked me out to Cedar Crest to…morrow afternoon; and I'm going。〃

Barney let go the hold he had kept upon her wrists; and the dark look slowly lifted from his face。 〃Why didn't you tell a fellow this at first?〃 he half grumbled。 then with a grim enthusiasm: 〃And when you come back; you're going to tell us it's all settled!〃

Of courseif he asks me。 And now suppose you two go away。 You've given me a headache; and I want to rest。〃

〃We'll go;〃 said Barney。 〃But there may be some more points about this that we may want to talk over a little later to…night。 So better get all the rest you can。〃

But when they had gone and left her to the silence of her pretentious and characterless suite; Maggie did not rest。 She had made up her mind; she was going to do as she had said。 But there was still that same turmoil within her。

Again she thought of Larry。 But she would not admit to herself that her real motive for suddenly deciding to go to Cedar Crest on the morrow was the chance of seeing him。




CHAPTER XXVI


During all these days Larry waited for news of the result of the experiment in psychology which meant so much to his life。 He had not expected to hear directly from Maggie; but he had counted upon learning at once from Dick; if not by words; then either from eloquent dejection which would proclaim Dick's refusal (and Larry's success) or from an ebullient joy which would proclaim that Maggie had accepted him。 But Dick's sober but not unhappy behavior announced neither of these two to Larry; and the matter was too personal; altogether too delicate; to permit Larry to ask Dick the result; however subtly he might ask it。

So Larry could only waitand wonder。 The truth did not occur to Larry; he did not see that there might be another alternative to the two possible reactions he had calculated upon。 He did not bear in mind that Maggie's youthful obstinacy; her belief in herself and her ways; were too solid a structure to yield at once to one moral shock; however wisely planned and however strong。 He did not at this time hold in mind that any real change in so decided a character as Maggie; if change there was to be; would be preceded and accompanied by a turbulent period in which she would hardly know who she was; or where she was; or what she was going to doand that at the end of such a period there might be no change at all。

Inasmuch as just then Maggie was his major interest; it seemed to Larry in his safe seclusion that he was merely marking time; and marking time with feet that were frantically impatient。 He felt he could not stand much longer his own inactivity and his ignorance of what Maggie was doing and what was happening to her。 He could not remain in this sanctuary pulling strings; and very long and fragile strings; and strings which might be the mistaken ones; for any much greater period。 He felt that he simply had to walk out of this splendid safety; back into the dangers from which he had fled; where he might at least have the possible advantage of being in the very midst of Maggie's affairs and fight for her more openly and have a more direct influence upon her。

He knew that; sooner or later; he was going to throw caution aside and appear suddenly among his enemies; unless something of a definite character developed。 But for these slow; irritating days he held himself in check with difficulty; hoping that things might come to him; that he would not have to go forth to them。

He had brought Hunt's portrait of Maggie to Cedar Crest in the bottom of his trunk; and kept it locked in his chiffonier。 During these days; more frequently than before; he would take out the portrait and in the security of his locked room would gaze long at that keen…visioned portrayal of her many characters。 No doubt of it: there was a possible splendid woman there! And no doubt of it: he loved that woman utterly!

During these days of his ignorance; while Maggie was struggling in the darkness of her unexplored being; Larry drove himself grimly at the business to which under happier circumstances he would have gone under the irresistible suasion of pure joy。 One afternoon he presented to Miss Sherwood an outline for his growing plan for the development of the Sherwood properties on the basis of good homes at fair rentals。 He discovered that; in spite of her generous giving; she had much the same attitude toward Charity as his own: that the only sound Charity; except for those temporarily or permanently handicapped or disabled; was the giving of honest values for hone
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 1
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!