Tish | Page 7

on her head for fear of
sunstroke. Then I sat down in the broiling sun and chaperoned Bettina
until luncheon.

III
Jasper took dinner with us that night. He came across the lawn, freshly
shaved and in clean white flannels, just as dinner was announced, and
said he had seen a chocolate cake cooling on the kitchen porch and that
it was a sort of unwritten social law that when the Baileys happened to
have a chocolate cake at dinner they had him also.
There seemed to be nothing to object to in this. Evidently he was right,

for we found his place laid at the table. The meal was quite cheerful,
although Jasper ate the way some people play the piano, by touch, with
his eyes on Bettina. And he gave no evidence at dessert of a fondness
for chocolate cake sufficient to justify a standing invitation.
After dinner we went out on the veranda, and under cover of showing
me a sunset Jasper took me round the corner of the house. Once there,
he entirely forgot the sunset.
"Miss Lizzie," he began at once, "what have I done to you to have you
treat me like this?"
"I?" I asked, amazed.
"All three of you. Did--did Bettina's mother warn you against me?"
"The girl has to be chaperoned."
"But not jailed, Miss Lizzie, not jailed! Do you know that I haven't had
a word with Bettina alone since you came?"
"Why should you want to say anything we cannot hear?"
"Miss Lizzie," he said desperately, "do you want to hear me propose to
her? For I've reached the point where if I don't propose to Bettina soon,
I'll--I'll propose to somebody. You'd better be warned in time. It might
be you or Miss Aggie."
I weakened at that. The Lord never saw fit to send me a man I could
care enough about to marry, or one who cared enough about me, but I
couldn't look at the boy's face and not be sorry for him.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked.
"Come for a walk with us," he begged. "Then sprain your ankle or get
tired, I don't care which. Tell us to go on and come back for you later.
Do you see? You can sit down by the road somewhere."
"I won't lie," I said firmly. "If I really get tired I'll say so. If I don't--"

"You will." He was gleeful. "We'll walk until you do! You see it's like
this, Miss Lizzie. Bettina was all for me, in spite of our differing on
religion and politics and--"
"I know all about your differences," I put in hastily.
"Until a new chap came to town--a fellow named Ellis. Runs a sporty
car and has every girl in the town lashed to the mast. He's a novelty and
I'm not. So far I have kept him away from Bettina, but at any time they
may meet, and it will be one-two-three with me."
I am not defending my conduct; I am only explaining. Eliza Bailey
herself would have done what I did under the circumstances. I went for
a walk with Bettina and Jasper shortly after my talk with Jasper,
leaving Tish with the evening paper and Aggie inhaling a cubeb
cigarette, her hay fever having threatened a return. And what is more, I
tired within three blocks of the house, where I saw a grassy bank beside
the road.
Bettina wished to stay with me, but I said, in obedience to Jasper's eyes,
that I liked to sit alone and listen to the crickets, and for them to go on.
The last I saw of them Jasper had drawn Bettina's arm through his and
was walking beside her with his head bent, talking. I sat for perhaps
fifteen minutes and was growing uneasy about dew and my rheumatism
when I heard footsteps and, looking up, I saw Aggie coming toward me.
She was not surprised to see me and addressed me coldly.
"I thought as much!" she said. "I expected better of you, Lizzie. That
boy asked me and I refused. I dare say he asked Tish also. For you,
who pride yourself on your strength of mind--"
"I was tired," I said. "I was to sprain my ankle," she observed
sarcastically. "I just thought as I was sitting there alone--"
"Where's Tish?"
"A young man named Ellis came and took her out for a ride," said
Aggie. "He couldn't take us both, as the car holds only two."

I got up and stared at Aggie in the twilight. "You come straight home
with me, Aggie Pilkington," I said sternly.
"But what about Bettina and Jasper?"
"Let 'em alone," I said; "they're safe enough. What we need to keep an
eye on is