The Hunters | Page 2

Doris Palit. I went with Carolyn to the bathroom--"
* * * * *
Miss Burton made a sound of annoyance. Imagine losing two children and not noticing it right away. The other teacher must be frantic by now, and serve her right for being so careless.
"All right, you may stay with us until we find a policeman--" She interrupted herself. "Frances, what are you giggling at now?"
"It's Carolyn. She's making faces just like you!"
"Really, Carolyn, that isn't at all nice!"
Carolyn's face altered itself in a hurry, so as to lose any resemblance to Miss Burton's. "I'm sorry, Miss Burton, I didn't really mean to do anything wrong."
"Well, I'd like to know how you were brought up, if you don't know that it's wrong to mimic people to their faces. A big girl like you, too. How old are you, Carolyn?"
Carolyn shrank, she hoped imperceptibly, by an inch. "I'm two--"
An outburst of shrill laughter. "She's two years old, she's two years old!"
"I was going to say, I'm towelve. Almost, anyway."
"Eleven years old," said Miss Burton. "Old enough to know better."
"I'm sorry, Miss Burton. And honest, Miss Burton, I didn't mean anything, but I'm studying to be an actress, and I imitate people, like the actors you see on television--"
"Oh, Miss Burton, please don't make her go home with a policeman. If she's going to be an actress, I'll bet she'd love to see Curt George!"
"Well, after the way she's behaved, I don't know whether I should let her. I really don't."
"Please, Miss Burton, it was an accident. I won't do it again."
"All right, if you're good, and cause no trouble. But we still have plenty of time before seeing Mr. George. It's only two now, and we're not supposed to go to the lecture hall until four."
"Miss Burton," called Barbara Willman, "do you think he'd give us his autograph?"
"Now, children, I've warned you about that. You mustn't annoy him. Mr. George is a famous movie actor, and his time is valuable. It's very kind of him to offer to speak to us, especially when so many grown-up people are anxious to hear him, but we mustn't take advantage of his kindness."
"But he likes children, Miss Burton! My big sister read in a movie magazine where it said he's just crazy about them."
"I know, but--he's not in good health, children. They say he got jungle fever in Africa, where he was shooting all those lions, and rhinoceroses, and elephants for his new picture. That's why you mustn't bother him too much."
"But he looks so big and strong, Miss Burton. It wouldn't hurt him to sign an autograph!"
"Oh, yes, it would," asserted one little girl. "He shakes. When he has an attack of fever, his hand shakes."
"Yes, Africa is a dangerous continent, and one never knows how the dangers will strike one," said Miss Burton complacently. "So we must all remember how bravely Mr. George is fighting his misfortune, and do our best not to tire him out."
* * * * *
In the bright light that flooded the afternoon breakfast table, Curt George's handsome, manly face wore an expression of distress. He groaned dismally, and muttered, "What a head I've got, what a head. How do you expect me to face that gang of kids without a drink to pick me up?"
"You've had your drink," said Carol. She was slim, attractive, and efficient. At the moment she was being more efficient than attractive, and she could sense his resentment. "That's all you get. Now, lay off, and try to be reasonably sober, for a change."
"But those kids! They'll squeal and giggle--"
"They're about the only audience in the world that won't spot you as a drunk. God knows where I could find any one else who'd believe that your hand shakes because of fever."
"I know that you're looking out for my best interests, Carol. But one more drink wouldn't hurt me."
She said wearily, but firmly, "I don't argue with drunks, Curt. I just go ahead and protect them from themselves. No drinks."
"Afterwards?"
"I can't watch you the way a mother watches a child."
The contemptuous reply sent his mind off on a new tack. "You could if we were married."
"I've never believed in marrying weak characters to reform them."
"But if I proved to you that I could change--"
"Prove it first, and I'll consider your proposal afterwards."
"You certainly are a cold-blooded creature, Carol. But I suppose that in your profession you have to be."
"Cold, suspicious, nasty--and reliable. It's inevitable when I must deal with such warm-hearted, trusting, and unreliable clients."
He watched her move about the room, clearing away the dishes from his meager breakfast. "What are you humming, Carol?"
"Was I humming?"
"I thought I recognized it--All of Me, Why Not Take All of Me? That's it! Your subconscious gives you away. You really want to marry me!"
"A mistake," she