turned suddenly and said:
"By the way, what's your name? Mine's Clara Hunt."
He told her, and while she went up the elevator with her bathing suit,
he arranged with the head waiter to have himself seated at her table.
He learned from the clerk that she had arrived alone with a letter of
introduction from a former guest of the house, and intended to stay at
least a fortnight.
At luncheon he proposed that they should take a sail in the afternoon.
She said, with a smile:
"As it is you who invites me, I'll give up my nap and go."
They rode in a 'bus to the Inlet, and after spending half an hour
drinking beer and listening to the band on the pavilion, they hired a
skipper to take them out in his catboat. Six miles out the boat pitched
considerably and Miss Hunt increased her hold on Morrow's admiration
by not becoming seasick. At his suggestion they cast out lines for
bluefish. She borrowed mittens from the captain and pulled in four fish
in quick succession.
"What an athletic woman you are," said Morrow.
"Yes, indeed."
"In fact, everything that's charming," he continued.
She replied softly: "Don't say that unless you mean it. It pleases me too
much, coming from you."
Morrow mused: "Here's a girl who is frank enough to say so when she
likes a fellow. It makes her all the more fascinating, too. Some women
would make me very tired throwing themselves at me this way. But it is
different with her."
They gave the fish to the captain and returned from the Inlet by the
Atlantic Avenue trolley, just in time for dinner. She did not lament her
lack of opportunity to change her clothes for dinner, nor did she
complain about the coat of sunburn she had acquired.
In the evening, they sat together for a time on the pier, took a turn
together at one of the waltzes, although neither cared much for dancing
at this time of year, walked up the boardwalk and compared the moon
with the high beacon light of the lighthouse.
He bought her marshmallows at a confectioner's booth, a fan at a
Japanese store, and a queer oriental paper cutter at a Turkish bazaar.
They took two switchback rides, during which he was compelled to put
his arm around her. Finally, reluctant to end the evening, they stood for
some minutes leaning against the boardwalk railing, listening to the
moan of the sea and watching the shaft of moonlight stretching from
beach to horizon.
It was not until he was alone in his room that Morrow bethought of his
neglect of the loveliest girl in the world. And remorseful as he was, he
did not form any distinct intention of resuming his search for her the
next day. He rather congratulated himself on not having met her while
he was with this enchanting Clara Hunt.
And he passed next day also with the enchanting Clara Hunt. They sat
on the piazza together reading different parts of the same newspaper for
an hour after breakfast; went to the boardwalk and turned in at a
shuffle-board hall, where they spent another hour making the weights
slide along the sanded board and then took another ocean bath.
After luncheon they walked up the boardwalk to the iron pier.
Seeing the lifeboat there, rising and falling in the waves, Clara asked:
"Would the lifeguard take us in his boat for a while, I wonder?"
Morrow went down to the beach and shouted to the lifeguard, who was
none other than the robust and stentorian Captain Clark. The captain
brought the boat ashore and as there were no bathers in the water at this
point, he agreed to row the young people out to the end of the pier.
"This is a great place for brides and grooms this summer," remarked the
captain in his frank and jocular way.
Clara looked at Morrow with a blush and a laugh. Morrow was pleased
at seeing that she seemed not displeased.
"We're not married," said Morrow to the captain.
"Not yet, mebbe," said the captain with one of his significant winks,
and then he gave vent to loud and long laughter.
That evening Morrow and Clara took the steamer trip from the Inlet to
Brigantine and the ride on the electric car along flat and sandy
Brigantine beach. On the return, they became very sentimental. They
decided to walk all the way from the Inlet down the boardwalk. He
found himself quite oblivious to the crowd of promenaders. The
loveliest girl in the world might have passed him a dozen times without
attracting his attention. He had eyes and ears for none but Clara Hunt.
And that night, far from reproaching himself for his
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.