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"Well, Edd, I must say you've made amends for your other speech," said Lucy
graciously. "All the same, I said no and I meant no."
"Miss Lucy, I swear I'd never asked you again if you'd said that for good. But
you said as much as you'd go some time. Shore if you're ever goin' to our
dances why not this one, an' let me be the first to take you?"
He was earnest; he was pathetic; he was somehow most difficult to resist. Lucy
felt that she had not been desired in this way before. To take her would be
the great event in his life. For a moment she laboured with vacillation. Then
she reflected that if she yielded here it would surely lead to other
obligations and very likely to sentiment. Thereupon she hardened her heart,
and this time gave him a less kindly refusal. Edd dropped his head and went
away.
Lucy spent another hour unpacking and arranging the numerous working materials
that had been brought from Cedar Ridge. She heard Mrs. Denmeade and Allie
preparing an early supper, so they could ride off to the dance before sunset.
Lucy had finished her task for the afternoon and was waiting to be called to
supper when again Edd appeared at the door.
"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked, precisely as he had the first
time. Yet there seemed some subtle change in both tone and look.
"Well, indeed you are persevering, if not some other things," she replied,
really annoyed. "Can't you understand plain English?...I said no!"
"Shore I heard you the first time," he retorted. "But I reckoned, seein' it's
so little for you to do, an' means so much to me, maybe you'd--"
"Why does it mean so much to you?" she interrupted.
"'Cause if I can take you I'll show them this once, an' then I'll never go
again," he replied.
It cost Lucy effort to turn away from his appealing face and again deny him,
which she did curtly. He disappeared. Then Mrs. Denmeade called her to supper.
Edd did not show himself during the meal.
"Edd's all het up over this dance," observed Mrs. Denmeade. "It's on account
of Sadie's sharp tongue Edd doesn't care a rap for her now an' never did care
much, if my reckonin' is right. But she's mean."
"Laws! I hope Edd doesn't fetch that Sally Sprall," interposed Allie. "He said
he was dog-goned minded to do it."
"That hussy!" ejaculated Mrs. Denmeade. "Edd wouldn't take her."
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"Ma, he's awful set on havin' a girl this dance," responded Allie.
"I'll bet some day Edd gets a better girl than Sadie Purdue or any of her
clan," declared the mother.
A little while later Lucy watched Mrs. Denmeade and Allie, with the children
and Uncle Bill, ride off down the lane to disappear in the woods. Edd had not
returned. Lucy concluded he had ridden off as had his brothers and their
father. She really regretted that she had been obdurate. Coming to think about
it, she did not like the idea of being alone in the cabin all night. Still,
she could bar herself in and feel perfectly safe.
She walked on the porch, listening to the murmur of the stream and the barking
of the squirrels. Then she watched the sun set in golden glory over the
yellow-and-black cape of wall that jutted out toward the west. The day had
been pleasantly warm and was now growing cool. She drew a deep breath of the
pine-laden air. This wild country was drawing her. A sense of gladness filled
her at the thought that she could stay here indefinitely.
Her reflections were interrupted by the crack of iron-shod hoof on rock. Lucy
gave a start. She did not want to be caught there alone. Peering through the
foliage, she espied Edd striding up the lane, leading two saddled horses. She
was immensely relieved, almost glad at sight of him, and then began to wonder
what this meant.
"If he's not going to ask me again!" she soliloquised, and the paradox of her
feeling on the moment was that she was both pleased and irritated at his
persistence. "The nerve of him!"
Edd led the two horses into the yard and up to the porch. His stride was that
of a man who would not easily be turned back. In spite of her control, Lucy
felt a thrill.
"Reckon you thought I'd gone?" he queried as he faced her.
"No; I didn't think about you at all," returned Lucy, which speech was not
literally true.
"Wal, you're goin' to the dance," he drawled, cool and easy, with a note in
his voice she had never heard. "Oh--indeed! I am?" she exclaimed tartly.
"You shore are."
"I am not," flashed Lucy.
With a lunge he reached out his long arms and, wrapping them round her, he
lifted her off the porch as easily as if she had been an empty sack. Lucy was
so astounded that for an instant she could not move hand or foot. A knot
seemed to form in her breast. She began to shake. Then, awakening to this
outrage, she began to struggle.
"How dare you? Let me down I Release me!" she cried.
"Nope. You're goin' to the dance," he said, in the same drawling tone with its
peculiar inflection.
"You--you ruffian!" burst out Lucy, suddenly beside herself with rage.
Frantically she struggled to free herself. This fierce energy only augmented
her emotions. She tore at him, wrestled and writhed, and then in desperation
fraught with sudden fear she began to beat him with her fists. At that he
changed his hold on her until she seemed strung in iron bands. She could not
move. It was a terrible moment, in which her head reeled. What did he mean to
do with her?
"Reckon I'll have to hold you till you quit fightin'," he said. "Shore it'd
never do to put you up on Baldy now. He's a gentle hoss, but if you kicked
around on him I reckon he might hurt you."
"Let--me--go!" gasped Lucy hoarsely. "Are--you crazy?"
"Nope. Not even riled. But shore my patience is wearin' out."
"Patience! Why, you lout--you brute--you wild-bee hunter!" raved Lucy, and
again she attempted to break his hold. How utterly powerless she was! He had
the strength of a giant. A sudden panic assailed her fury.
"My God! You don't mean--to hurt me--harm me?" she panted.
"You dog-gone fool!" he ejaculated, as if utterly astounded.
"Oh!...Then what--do you mean?"
"I mean nothin' 'cept you're goin' to that dance," he declared ruthlessly.
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"An' you're goin' if I have to hawg-tie you. Savvy?"
Whereupon he lifted her and set her in the saddle of one of the horses, and
threw her left foot over so that she was astride.
"No kickin' now! Baldy is watchin' out of the corner of his eye," said this
wild-bee hunter.
The indignity of her position, astride a horse with her dress caught above her
knees, was the last Lucy could endure.
"Please let--me down," she whispered. "I'll--go--with you."
"Wal, I'm shore glad you're goin' to show sense," he drawled, and with action
markedly in contrast to his former ones he helped her dismount.
Lucy staggered back against the porch, so weak she could hardly stand. She
stared at this young backwoodsman, whose bronzed face had paled slightly.
He had bruised her arms and terrified her. Overcome by her sensations, she
burst into tears.
"Aw, don't cry!" Edd expostulated. "I'm sorry I had to force you...An' you
don't want to go to a dance with red eyes an' nose."
If Lucy had not been so utterly shocked she could have laughed at his
solicitude. Hopeless indeed was this backwoodsman. She strove to regain
control over her feelings, and presently moved her hands from her face.
"Is there any place down there--to change--where a girl can dress?" she asked
huskily. "I can't ride horseback in this."
"Shore is," he said gaily.
"Very well," returned Lucy. "I'll get a dress--and go with you."
She went to her room and, opening the closet, she selected the prettiest of
the several dresses she had brought. This, with slippers, comb, and brush and
mirror, she packed in a small grip. She seemed stunned, locked in a kind of
maze. Kidnapped! Forced by a wild-bee hunter to go to a backwoods dance! Of
all adventures possible to her, this one seemed the most incredible! Yet had [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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"Well, Edd, I must say you've made amends for your other speech," said Lucy
graciously. "All the same, I said no and I meant no."
"Miss Lucy, I swear I'd never asked you again if you'd said that for good. But
you said as much as you'd go some time. Shore if you're ever goin' to our
dances why not this one, an' let me be the first to take you?"
He was earnest; he was pathetic; he was somehow most difficult to resist. Lucy
felt that she had not been desired in this way before. To take her would be
the great event in his life. For a moment she laboured with vacillation. Then
she reflected that if she yielded here it would surely lead to other
obligations and very likely to sentiment. Thereupon she hardened her heart,
and this time gave him a less kindly refusal. Edd dropped his head and went
away.
Lucy spent another hour unpacking and arranging the numerous working materials
that had been brought from Cedar Ridge. She heard Mrs. Denmeade and Allie
preparing an early supper, so they could ride off to the dance before sunset.
Lucy had finished her task for the afternoon and was waiting to be called to
supper when again Edd appeared at the door.
"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked, precisely as he had the first
time. Yet there seemed some subtle change in both tone and look.
"Well, indeed you are persevering, if not some other things," she replied,
really annoyed. "Can't you understand plain English?...I said no!"
"Shore I heard you the first time," he retorted. "But I reckoned, seein' it's
so little for you to do, an' means so much to me, maybe you'd--"
"Why does it mean so much to you?" she interrupted.
"'Cause if I can take you I'll show them this once, an' then I'll never go
again," he replied.
It cost Lucy effort to turn away from his appealing face and again deny him,
which she did curtly. He disappeared. Then Mrs. Denmeade called her to supper.
Edd did not show himself during the meal.
"Edd's all het up over this dance," observed Mrs. Denmeade. "It's on account
of Sadie's sharp tongue Edd doesn't care a rap for her now an' never did care
much, if my reckonin' is right. But she's mean."
"Laws! I hope Edd doesn't fetch that Sally Sprall," interposed Allie. "He said
he was dog-goned minded to do it."
"That hussy!" ejaculated Mrs. Denmeade. "Edd wouldn't take her."
Page 41
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Ma, he's awful set on havin' a girl this dance," responded Allie.
"I'll bet some day Edd gets a better girl than Sadie Purdue or any of her
clan," declared the mother.
A little while later Lucy watched Mrs. Denmeade and Allie, with the children
and Uncle Bill, ride off down the lane to disappear in the woods. Edd had not
returned. Lucy concluded he had ridden off as had his brothers and their
father. She really regretted that she had been obdurate. Coming to think about
it, she did not like the idea of being alone in the cabin all night. Still,
she could bar herself in and feel perfectly safe.
She walked on the porch, listening to the murmur of the stream and the barking
of the squirrels. Then she watched the sun set in golden glory over the
yellow-and-black cape of wall that jutted out toward the west. The day had
been pleasantly warm and was now growing cool. She drew a deep breath of the
pine-laden air. This wild country was drawing her. A sense of gladness filled
her at the thought that she could stay here indefinitely.
Her reflections were interrupted by the crack of iron-shod hoof on rock. Lucy
gave a start. She did not want to be caught there alone. Peering through the
foliage, she espied Edd striding up the lane, leading two saddled horses. She
was immensely relieved, almost glad at sight of him, and then began to wonder
what this meant.
"If he's not going to ask me again!" she soliloquised, and the paradox of her
feeling on the moment was that she was both pleased and irritated at his
persistence. "The nerve of him!"
Edd led the two horses into the yard and up to the porch. His stride was that
of a man who would not easily be turned back. In spite of her control, Lucy
felt a thrill.
"Reckon you thought I'd gone?" he queried as he faced her.
"No; I didn't think about you at all," returned Lucy, which speech was not
literally true.
"Wal, you're goin' to the dance," he drawled, cool and easy, with a note in
his voice she had never heard. "Oh--indeed! I am?" she exclaimed tartly.
"You shore are."
"I am not," flashed Lucy.
With a lunge he reached out his long arms and, wrapping them round her, he
lifted her off the porch as easily as if she had been an empty sack. Lucy was
so astounded that for an instant she could not move hand or foot. A knot
seemed to form in her breast. She began to shake. Then, awakening to this
outrage, she began to struggle.
"How dare you? Let me down I Release me!" she cried.
"Nope. You're goin' to the dance," he said, in the same drawling tone with its
peculiar inflection.
"You--you ruffian!" burst out Lucy, suddenly beside herself with rage.
Frantically she struggled to free herself. This fierce energy only augmented
her emotions. She tore at him, wrestled and writhed, and then in desperation
fraught with sudden fear she began to beat him with her fists. At that he
changed his hold on her until she seemed strung in iron bands. She could not
move. It was a terrible moment, in which her head reeled. What did he mean to
do with her?
"Reckon I'll have to hold you till you quit fightin'," he said. "Shore it'd
never do to put you up on Baldy now. He's a gentle hoss, but if you kicked
around on him I reckon he might hurt you."
"Let--me--go!" gasped Lucy hoarsely. "Are--you crazy?"
"Nope. Not even riled. But shore my patience is wearin' out."
"Patience! Why, you lout--you brute--you wild-bee hunter!" raved Lucy, and
again she attempted to break his hold. How utterly powerless she was! He had
the strength of a giant. A sudden panic assailed her fury.
"My God! You don't mean--to hurt me--harm me?" she panted.
"You dog-gone fool!" he ejaculated, as if utterly astounded.
"Oh!...Then what--do you mean?"
"I mean nothin' 'cept you're goin' to that dance," he declared ruthlessly.
Page 42
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"An' you're goin' if I have to hawg-tie you. Savvy?"
Whereupon he lifted her and set her in the saddle of one of the horses, and
threw her left foot over so that she was astride.
"No kickin' now! Baldy is watchin' out of the corner of his eye," said this
wild-bee hunter.
The indignity of her position, astride a horse with her dress caught above her
knees, was the last Lucy could endure.
"Please let--me down," she whispered. "I'll--go--with you."
"Wal, I'm shore glad you're goin' to show sense," he drawled, and with action
markedly in contrast to his former ones he helped her dismount.
Lucy staggered back against the porch, so weak she could hardly stand. She
stared at this young backwoodsman, whose bronzed face had paled slightly.
He had bruised her arms and terrified her. Overcome by her sensations, she
burst into tears.
"Aw, don't cry!" Edd expostulated. "I'm sorry I had to force you...An' you
don't want to go to a dance with red eyes an' nose."
If Lucy had not been so utterly shocked she could have laughed at his
solicitude. Hopeless indeed was this backwoodsman. She strove to regain
control over her feelings, and presently moved her hands from her face.
"Is there any place down there--to change--where a girl can dress?" she asked
huskily. "I can't ride horseback in this."
"Shore is," he said gaily.
"Very well," returned Lucy. "I'll get a dress--and go with you."
She went to her room and, opening the closet, she selected the prettiest of
the several dresses she had brought. This, with slippers, comb, and brush and
mirror, she packed in a small grip. She seemed stunned, locked in a kind of
maze. Kidnapped! Forced by a wild-bee hunter to go to a backwoods dance! Of
all adventures possible to her, this one seemed the most incredible! Yet had [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]