Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

The Cost by David Graham Phillips
page 35 of 324 (10%)
"cut" ancient history and was there. As he advanced to meet
her she thought she had never before appreciated how handsome he
was, how distinguished-looking--perfectly her ideal of what a man
should be, especially in that important, and at Battle Field
neglected, matter, dress.

She was without practice in indirection, but she successfully hid
her jealousy and her fears, though his manner was making their
taunts and threats desperately real. He seemed depressed and
gloomy; he would not look at her; he shook hands with her almost
coldly, though they had not seen each other for weeks, had not
talked together for months. She felt faint, and her thoughts
were like flocks of circling, croaking crows.

"Polly," he began, when they were in the secluded corner of the
park, "father wants me to get married. He's in a rage at your
father for treating me so harshly. He wants me to marry a girl
who's visiting us. He's always at me about it, making all sorts
of promises and threats. Her father's in the same business that
we are, and----"

He glanced at her to note the effect of his words. She had drawn
her tall figure to its full height, and her cheeks were flushed
and her eyes curiously bright. He had stabbed straight and deep
into the heart of her weakness, but also into the heart of her
pride.

The only effect of his thrust that was visible to him put him in
a panic. "Don't--PLEASE don't look that way, Polly," he went
on hastily. "You don't see what I'm driving at yet. I didn't
DigitalOcean Referral Badge