World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Juvenile fiction; Young women -- Societies and clubs -- Juvenile fiction
“Oh, yes, I remember you,” dimpled Nathalie. “No, not when I met you
that day at the Flume, although your face haunted me as being familiar,
but it all came to me on the ride home.”
“But I knew you right away,” said the boy half shyly, “although I did
not like to make myself known, for, of course, I did not even know your
name.”
“Or I yours,” laughed Nathalie. And then, with her mind filled with
thoughts of the young English soldier, she told his story to Mr.
Darrell, who immediately became so interested in Tommy Atkins, as he
called him, that he begged Nathalie to let him go with her, quite
assured, he declared, that he could be of some assistance to him.
Before the girl could reply a new voice suddenly shrilled, “Oh,
Nathalie, how do you do? Did you come up here to call on us?”
The girl, thus addressed, stared with some bewilderment, to see her two
New York schoolmates hurrying towards her. They looked very fetching in
their modish golf-costumes, with their bags slung carelessly over their
shoulders, as each one seized her hand and shook it cordially, while
smiling down upon her in a most friendly and chummy way.
For a full second the girl simply stared, dazed and confused, as it
suddenly flashed into her consciousness that the last time she had met
these girls they had snubbed her, deliberately turning their backs upon
her, when she greeted them, the day she had come to the hotel to leave
the sweet peas. Ah, a sudden red leaped into Nathalie’s cheeks, her eyes
flamed angrily, and she was about to return their snub by turning her
back upon them, for she had intuitively divined that they were nice to
her because they wanted to be introduced to her friends. Yes, they
wanted to know the soldier-boy.
But something deep within the girl, her finer nature, whispered, “Never
mind, ignore their slight, and show that you are above them by acting
the lady.” With simple dignity the girl coolly returned their effusive
greeting, and then, with cold formality, introduced them to her two
friends. Oh, how delighted they were to meet Miss Van Vorst; they had
heard all about her from a friend of hers,—Nita never was able to
discover this friend. Then, turning from Nita as quickly as possible,
they made an onslaught upon the soldier lad. Oh, how pleased they were
to meet him, they had been just wild to know him ever since they had
sighted his uniform. Was he a New York guardsman? What regiment did he
belong to? These and a score of similar questions were quickly hurled at
the young man, somewhat to his embarrassment. Nathalie could not hear
all they said as she chattered with Nita, but vaguely realized, as they
rattled on, with an angry flutter of her heart, that they were again
ignoring her, as she heard them urging Mr. Darrell to join them at a
game of golf.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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