The Adventures of a Modest Man
very affable and anxious to be of help, but all he could do was to nod and utter Teutonic guttu
s the entire Fatherland travelling on t
across the aisle, but she was looking out of her own window
e might turn out to be of the same nationality."
rse toots from the locomotive indicate
y at Seabury, then, as nobody apparently cared either to get out at Blue Bird Lake or change for Pleasant Valley, he slammed the door and jerke
ugh to see that-a fine gray powder sifting down out of
the pane, rubbed it with a thumb
tion iss Beve
xt is P
Beverly; und der n
t the next station, don't I?" stammered the
e growled. "I dell you Peverly und you say Be
ut I d
ssenger, and resumed his newspaper, hunching himself around to pre
the station properly; no doubt the next stop was Beverly, after all. He was due there at 6.17. He looked at
tive sounded from the darkness ahead; already
of the blue eyes and chinchilla furs preparing for departure; and, what he had not before noticed,
ht be bound for the Christmas Eve frolic at the Au
charming and delightful probability. And already his misgivings concerning the proper name of the next station had vanished. He wanted Beverly
jerking pull of brakes, and, from the f
Beverly!"
ded the young man, smiling to himself as he rose, investe
left the car, followed by her maid, before h
y at his fellow-passenger, he encountered only a huge snee
m, mouth agape-hesitated a moment only, then, realizing the dreadful po
oking about him for some sign of a conveyance which might be destined for him. There w
ough the thickly descending snow where the name of the station ought to be. And, as he stepped
id Seabury, relieved to encou
eabury, sir! Wer
abandoning his suit-case to the footman
r the robes to her pretty chin, and her maid on the box with the coach
ok off his hat politely, and she acknowledged his presence very gravely
agnificent pair of plumed horses swung around the circle under the bl
ace to permit her the choice of conversing or remaining silent. She hesitated; she had never been particularly wedded to silence. Besides, she was scarce
ow far it is; hav
she sai
h," he continued with
tion clung so closely around the sleigh that it might ha
rent railroads are to the con
n him; there was the faint
r that train," he said, laughin
I
nd it amused
a trifle. "What is the
mile-at least
t to offer. She was hard to
red on the verge of saying "you," but veered off hastily-"when I saw that brakeman's expression
chagrin on his face died out again; because it was quite impossible that suc
ly, "but I did some jumping at Harvard
ate," she said, smili
and he admitted it so blandly that he ov
y on that train except you and I were G
e you in?" she
n your
my c
ed; "you were sitting ac
pleasant surprise; "ac
y him again. Evidently she had not. Mistakes like that are annoying. Every man in
finding out where Beverly
ow did you
. Do you know that I had a curious sort of pres
" she said. "When
long before
ost remarkable-r
nking of a person you don't expect to see, and looking
resemble your c
ther she managed to say things that never permitted that easy, graceful flow of language which characterised him in his normal state. Somehow or other, he felt that he was not doing himself jus
's no similarity between the two cases
ought him just a trifle too ornamental-for he certainly was a very good-looking youth-perhaps something in the entire episode appealed to her sense of mischief. Probably even she herse
fully, "you were obses
could anybody be suspicious of such sweetly inquiring frankness? "You see,"
ins'!" sh
uldn't help
he asked. "Wh
course, only I k-kept see
M
uldn't help seei
she murmured, pressing her muff t
was a little difficult to talk to. But then she was young-very young and-close enoug
bumped into somebody and there you were. I don't mean," as she raised her pretty eyebrows-"mean that you were Bail
managed to whispe
ve inoculated me. You will probably not believe i
l that rang sweetly in the frosty air, harmonising with the chimi
-you had an obsession which turned into a premonition that bumped Bailey and you found it wasn't Bailey at all, but a
hing that's happened to
s make a differenc
diffe
it?" she aske
n wh
Things are clea
aid desperately. "You say things-and they sound all right-but somehow my answer
r of her muff were bright as
bject of conversation and try to make sense of it. I
ay things-I mean things n
u say G
ger
been irrel
was a little joke-I saw that soon enough; I'd have seen it at onc