Polly and Her Friends Abroad. Roy Lillian Elizabeth

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СКАЧАТЬ conversation into a different channel. As they enjoyed the excellent dinner, he told about the new car he had presented to his son Jimmy, on his twenty-first birthday, two weeks previous.

      “Oh, have you a grown-up son?” asked Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.

      “Yes indeed! And a very fine young man we think him, too,” returned Lady Osgood.

      “He is not at home, is he?” asked Mrs. Alexander.

      “He is dining with his latest love, this evening,” laughed Angela. “He has a new one every other week, but this one has lasted since Nancy refused him some time ago.”

      “Refused him! Nancy Fabian refused Sir James’s son,” gasped the unbelieving hunter for a title.

      The girls laughed, and Nancy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Mrs. Alexander stared from her to each one about the table, as if the truth of the statement would not sink into her mind.

      Again Sir James entered the breach and bridged over the yawning chasm in the conversation. “I gave Jimmy the car – which is a fine seven-passenger affair – with the understanding that he was to take Angela and the Fabians on a summer tour through England, but he spoiled all that by falling madly in love with Nancy and then being refused. Of course, he had no desire after that, to join any party. We are giving him ample opportunity, now, to recover from his broken heart. Then he and his car will be ours, again.”

      Jimmy’s family did not express much concern over his damaged heart, and the guests considered that pity or sympathy for him would be useless. However, Mrs. Alexander began to feel an intense interest in the absent heir and, as usual, she suggested a plan which others would have weighed carefully before mentioning.

      “If your son has a seven-passenger car and I have mine, wouldn’t it be just too lovely for anything, if we took all this party on the tour of England. He can drive his motor, and Pa can drive mine.”

      Her very audacity caused sudden silence with everyone, although the younger members of the party felt that the plan would be perfectly wonderful if it could be carried out. Sir James finally answered.

      “If Jimmy could be induced to join such a party, it certainly would be fine for all. But Lady Osgood and myself have to go down to our country house, in a few days, as there are so many things an owner of a large estate has to take charge of, in summer.”

      “Perhaps Miss Angela will join us, and we can divide the party accordingly,” persisted Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.

      “Oh yes, I’d love to be one of the touring party,” said Angela. “But what do the others say about this idea?”

      “If we could make the trip and get me back to London in two weeks’ time, so I can keep the appointments with several men I agreed to see, I’d like it immensely,” said Mr. Ashby.

      “As for us – we planned to tour England, anyway, and traveling with a party of friends will make it all the pleasanter,” added Mr. Fabian.

      “Oh, how grand! Then it is all settled, isn’t it?” cried Mrs. Alexander, clasping her be-ringed hands estatically.

      “That depends on Jimmy,” remarked Angela.

      “Jimmy will agree to do anything, the moment he meets this new bevy of pretty girls,” laughed Sir James.

      “You don’t seem to worry much over his susceptible heart,” ventured Mr. Fabian.

      “No, because ‘there is safety in numbers,’ you know,” said Lady Osgood. “And Jimmy falls out of love quite as safely as he falls in.”

      Mrs. Alexander listened intently whenever anyone spoke of the heir, and she made up her mind that that son must fall in love with Dodo if she had to take him by the neck and shake him into it. And once he was in love, she would see that Dodo accepted him and gave him no excuse to fall out again.

      “What do you think of this touring plan, Angie?” asked Nancy Fabian of her friend Angela.

      “Why I like it, Nan; don’t you think it will be heaps of fun? Much nicer than doing as we first planned, you know. With a large party of young folks there is always more sport.”

      “Yes, I agree with you.” Then Nancy turned to her father: “Have we arranged about the expenses of the trip? Of course the guests will want to entertain the owners of the two cars.”

      “Oh decidedly!” agreed Mr. Fabian.

      “Indeed not!” objected Mrs. Alexander. “What do you think of me, with all my money, letting others pay any of the bills?”

      This shocked her hearers and she actually realized that she had committed a social error that time. So she hoped for some opening by which she could mend matters. Sir James gave it to her.

      “It would seem better, if financial arrangements were left to the men, to settle. Ladies are seldom experienced enough to assume such responsibilities. So, if all agree, the cost and payment of bills will be attended to by the four gentlemen.”

      That smoothed matters out agreeably for the time being, and the subject of the itinerary was taken up and discussed. Dinner passed with no other breach of etiquette by the Alexanders, and they all went to the drawing-room to complete the plans for the trip.

      Dodo and her father were unusually quiet that evening, but Mrs. Alexander seemed the more pleased at it. In fact, she did so much talking about the car and how they all loved to drive it, that Dodo finally silenced her with a strange remark.

      “Ma, suppose you wait until you find whether your car can be driven this summer. It may have disappeared from the garage in London, where you say it is waiting.”

      Mrs. Alexander then remembered a very grave situation. “Did anyone remember that there would be thirteen in this party? Someone must drop out, or we’ll have to add an extra passenger.”

      The others laughed, believing she was joking, and Sir James said: “Oh, that sort of superstition never worries one, these days.”

      “Do you mean to say, you wouldn’t hesitate to do anything when there were thirteen in it?” wondered Mrs. Alexander.

      “Of course not! Thirteen really ought to be a lucky number because it is made up of one and three – both very lucky numerals,” returned Sir James. “It is only the fear of a thing that gives it any power. And the sooner you overcome the fear of thirteen being unlucky, it turns out to be favorable for you.”

      As long as a wise man like Sir James said so, Mrs. Alexander thought it must be so, and nothing more was said about the thirteen in the party.

      Jimmy had not come in that night when the guests said good-night to their host and hostess and retired. But what Sir James and his wife said to him when he did let himself in in the ‘wee sma hours’ about the bevy of very wealthy girls who were waiting for him to choose a wife from, had due effect on the young man.

      “And remember, Jimmy,” added his sister Angela. “These four girls have money by the bag! Nancy Fabian is a dandy girl, but she hasn’t a cent to bless her husband with.”

      In the morning, when Mr. and Mrs. Alexander appeared in street costumes ready to go to the garage where they believed their automobile would be awaiting them, Jimmy said he would go with them.

      “Oh dear no! I couldn’t think of such СКАЧАТЬ