But he was
good-natured and inoffensive and kind-hearted, with nothing low or mean
in his nature; and Jerrie, who looked as if she could have picked him up
and thrown him over the house, liked him far better than she did the
'elegant Tom,' as she had nicknamed him, who stood six feet without
heels, and who knew exactly what shade of color to choose, from his
neck-tie to his hose, which were always silk of the finest quality. Tom
was faultlessly gotten up, and he knew it, and carried himself as if he
knew it, and knew, too, that he was Tom Tracy, the future heir of Tracy
Park, if he were fortunate enough to outlive both his uncle and his
father. Jerrie had disliked him when he was a boy and she disliked him
now, and turning her back upon him pretended to be interested in 'little
Billy,' as she was in the habit of calling him; he was so short and she
was so tall.
He was speaking of Harold, and he said:
'It's a dused shame he co-couldn't come, b-but he sent some money by
Dick to buy you a b-basket in New York, and by George, we've got you a
st-stunner down to the h-hotel; only I'm a-a-fraid it'll be w-wilted
some b-before to-morrow.
'Yes,' Dick said, coming forward, 'I should not have told you now, if
Billy had not let it out; Hal did give me some money to buy a basket of
flowers for you; the very best I could find, he said, and I got a big
one; but I'm afraid it was not very fresh, for it begins to look wilted
now.
Pages:
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387