Dramatists -- Fiction; Greenwich Village (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction
He was awakened, just before nine o'clock on Sunday morning, by the
banging of a door. Then Hy, dusty, bedraggled, haggard of face, rushed
in and stared at him.
Peter decided it was a dream and rolled over.
Hy shook him. “For God's sake, Pete!” he cried. How hoarse he was!
“Where is she? Have you heard anything?”
Peter was coming awake.
“God, Pete, I'm crazy! Don't you understand--She wasn't on the boat.
Must have got the wrong one. Oh, it's awful!... I walked that deck
nearly all night--got off way up the river and came back to New York
with the milk cans. Something terrible may have happened.”
Peter sat up.
“It seems to me,” he said, rubbing his tousled head, “that I remember
something--last night--”
Hy waited, panting.
“Look on the desk. Didn't I bring up a note or something and lay it
there?”
Hy was on the desk like a panther. There was a note. He tore it open,
then thrust it into Peter's hands, crying hoarsely, “Read it!”--and
dropped, a limp, dirt-streaked wreck of a man, into the Morris chair.
This was the note:
“_Henry, I'm not going. I hope this reaches you in time. Please
understand--forgive if you can. You won't see me again. B._”
Peter read it again, thoughtfully; then looked up. His own
none-too-clear eyes met Hy's distinctly bloodshot ones.
“And what do you think of that!” cried Hy. “What do you think of
that!... Damn women, anyway! They don't play the game. They're not
square.”... He was clenching and unclenching his hands. Suddenly he
reached for the telephone.
But just as his hand closed on it, the bell rang.
Hy snatched up the receiver. “Yes!” he cried shortly--“Yes! Yes! He
lives here. Wait a moment, please. It's for you, Fete.”
Peter sprang out of bed and hurried to the instrument.
“Yes,” said he, “this is Mr. Mann.”
“Peter, it's Sue--Sue Wilde.”
“Oh--hello! I was going to call up myself in a few minutes. How have you
been?”
“Not awfully fit. This constant rehearsing seems to be on my nerves, or
something.”
There was a pause. Hy went off into the bedroom to get out of his
travel-stained clothes.
“I wanted to say, Peter--I've been thinking it all over--”
Peter braced himself.
“--and I've come to the conclusion that you are right about that
southern trip. It really isn't necessary.”
“I'm glad you feel that way.”
“I do. And we must make Zanin see it as we do.”
“We'll try.”
Another pause. Then this from Peter--
“Busy to-day?”
“I ought to be. Are you?”
“No. Can't work. Wish we could do something.”
“I'd like some air--to get away from the streets and that stuffy
theater. What could we do?”
“I'll tell you what you need, child--just the thing! We'll run down to
one of the beaches and tramp. Pick up lunch anywhere. What do you say?”
“I'll do it, Peter. Call for me, will you?... And oh, Peter, here's an
odd thing! Betty packed up yesterday while I was out and went home. Just
left a note. She has run away--given up. Going to marry a man in her
town. He makes gas engines.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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