On the bed lay folded a
white night gown; a pair of knitted pink slippers stood close
together on the floor beside it. There was a cheap curtain across
the alcove; she drew it, turned, looked at him; and slowly her oval
face crimsoned.
"You needn't wash your face," he said very gently.
She crept into the depths of a big arm-chair and lay back watching
him with inscrutable eyes.
He did not disturb her for a while. After a few moments he got up
and walked slowly about, examining the few inexpensive ornaments on
wall and mantel; turned over the pages of an album, glanced at a
newspaper beside it, then came back and stood beside her chair.
"Letty?"
She opened her eyes.
"I suppose that this isn't the--first time."
"No."
"It's not far from it, though." She was silent, but her eyes
dropped.
He sat down on the padded arm of the chair.
"Do you know how much money I've made this week?" he said gaily.
She looked up at him, surprised, and shook her head; but her velvet
eyes grew wide when he told her.
"I won it fairly," he said. "And I'm going to stake it all on one
last bet."
[Illustration: "I won it fairly, and I'm going to stake it all on
one last bet.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184