Children's stories; Young women -- Juvenile fiction
Wych Hazel went back to her cushions and her pondering, making
no reply. And Dr. Arthur, waiting for the answer which came not,
took out his pencil and a card and began idly sketching an
imaginary house. 'There,' he said, handing it over to Rollo,'see if
you can execute that?'Across the house was written:
'Make her talk. I want to hear her.'
'There is another sort of corner,' Dane went on meditatively, after
glancing at the card;'a corner where ways end instead of
meeting. The corner of a wall, for instance, _inside_, where there is
no way out but to jump the wall.'
'Yes,' said Hazel. 'I thought perhaps that sort existed only in _my_
experience.'
'What is your experience of corners?'
'I have seen two fencesmeet.'
'Yes, but where were you?'
'Mr. Rollo, I am talking seriously. What corners may be "ahead,"
in this mill-work?'
'None, I hope, that I cannot get round. But if we are to speak
seriously, suppose that there should be a sudden failure of orders?'
'So that he could make in two days more than he could sell in six,'
said Dr. Arthur, who with arms folded and eyes on the floor was
listening keenly.
'But the men could not stop eating just because he stopped selling,'
said Hazel, with her usual short run to conclusions.
'Of course,' said Dane laconically.
'Then if the work went on as usual But how long could you do
it? _That_ is what Dr. Maryland means,' said Hazel.
'You see the corner.'
Hazel saw it, and retreated again to her own among the cushions.
'I am not in it yet,'said Dane looking at her.
'No. And I should not think you would call any place where you
ought to be, "a corner," ' said Hazel, who was generally impartial
in her reproofs.
'Not if it _was_ a corner?' said Rollo with the most innocent gravity.
'No.'
She laid her hand up against the side of the chair, leaning her face
upon it, watching the fire. Turning slightly, from under the shadow
of his own hand, Dr. Arthur studied her.
'Meanwhile, let us consider the plan of the doctor's house. I cannot
show you his card, for it is not all quite as straight as Dr. Arthur's
plans generally are; but I wish you two ladies would make any
suggestions that occur to you; and I will make a note of them.'
'It needn't be a large house, I suppose, Dane,' said Primrose.
'Mem. To be a small house.'
'O hush, Duke!' said Prim. 'That is not a suggestion. But this _is;_
have plenty of closet room.'
'Item; with large closets.'
'Hazel, do tell him something,' said Primrose. 'He is laughing at
me.'
Hazel smiled, but she was not much inclined to enter the lists.
'I am sure he has been laughing at me,' she said. 'And I do not
know about the houseonly it ought to be perfectly bright and
pretty in every way. Because Dr. Maryland will see so much pain
in the course of his work, that he ought to find nothing but a
welcome when he comes home.'
'Are you satisfied, Arthur?' said Dane, as he gravely added to his
notes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account