They moved Madge, and Mrs. Flippin and Mary got her to bed. The Major
sat in the sitting-room and talked to Randy, and as he talked he held
Madge's hat in his hand. It had a brim of straw and a crown of mauve
silk. The Major, turning it round and round on a meditative finger,
thought of the woman who had worn it. She was a pretty woman, a very
oddly pretty woman.
"Is she related to Mrs. Waterman, Kemp?" he asked.
"No, sir. But she's been there all summer. And then she went away,
and they sent for her because Mrs. Waterman is ill."
Randy rather indiscreetly flung out, "It seems as if the trail of that
Waterman crowd is over our world. I suppose we shall have to get the
news of this up to them somehow."
"I can telephone Mr. Dalton, sir."
"Is Dalton still there?"
"Yes, sir. And he had a headache this morning, and stayed in bed, or
he would have been in the car, sir----"
Randy wished bloodthirstily that Dalton had been in the car. Why
couldn't Dalton have been smashed instead of Madge?
"I might call up Mr. Waterman instead of Mr. Dalton," Kemp suggested.
"If Mr. Dalton's in bed, he'll hate to be disturbed."
"Are you afraid of him, Kemp?"
Kemp's honest eyes met Randy's burning glance. "No, I am not afraid.
I am leaving his service, sir."
They stared at him. "Leaving his service, why?" Randy demanded.
"He called me a fool this morning. And I am not a fool, sir."
"What made him say that?" Randy asked, with interest.
"He ordered a kidney omelette for breakfast, and I brought it, and he
wouldn't eat it, and blamed me. I am willing to serve any man, but not
without self-respect, sir."
"What are you going to do now, Kemp?" the Major asked.
"Find a better man to work for."
"It won't be hard," Randy interpolated.
"Work for me," said the Major.
Kemp was eager----! "For you, sir?"
"Yes. I need somebody to be legs for me--I'm only half a man. The
place is open for you if you want it."
"I shall want it in a week;" said Kemp; "I shall have to give him
notice."
"There will be three musketeers in the old Schoolhouse, Paine. We have
all seen service."
"It will be the best thing that ever happened to me sir," said Kemp
ecstatically, "to know that I can wait on a fighting man." He swung
down the hall to the telephone as if he marched to the swirl of pipes.
"Isn't Dalton a brute?" said Randy.
"He that calleth his brother a fool----" mused the Major. He was still
turning the mauve hat in his hands. "It is queer," he said
unexpectedly, "how some women make you think of some flowers. Did you
notice everything Miss MacVeigh wore was lilac--and there's the perfume
of it about her things----"
"Becky's a rose," said Randy, "from her own garden. She's as fresh and
sweet," his voice caught. "Oh, hang Dalton," he said, "I hate the
whole tribe of them----"
Kemp came back to say that Oscar Waterman would be down at once. He
insisted that Miss MacVeigh should be brought up to Hamilton Hill.
"He must talk with the doctor."
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