XXXIII
"And now," said Lee, "I think I'll tell mamma."
On the way to find the princess, Lee and Renier encountered Herring. Heappeared to be hurrying, but something in their faces brought him to asudden stop.
Their attempts to meet his inquiring gaze with indifference provedunavailing, for he closed one eye and said:
"Which of you two has swallowed the family canary? Or has each of youswallowed half of him?"
The guilty pair were unable to preserve their natural coloring. Theyturned crimson, and each showed a courteous willingness to let the otherbe the first to speak.
"You've been to Carrytown," said Herring. "I saw you start. You raceddown to the float. And in your rivalry to see which should board the_Streak_ first, it looked as if you were going to knock each otheroverboard. Renier, he won, and you, Miss Lee, were annoyed. When youreturned from Carrytown, you had long, pensive, anxious faces. Renierstepped ashore and, in helping you ashore, gave you both hands. When agirl whom I have seen climb a tree after a baby owl accepts the aid of aman's two hands in stepping from a solid boat to a solid float, there isfood for thought. Having landed, you proceeded direct to the head of theDarling family and were for some time engaged with him in solemndiscourse. A paper was shown him. From a distance it looked as if itmight be some sort of a license--a license to hunt and be hunted,perhaps----"
"But it wasn't," said Lee suddenly, and she thrust her hand underRenier's arm. "If you must know, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, it was a licenseto love and be loved. So there!"
She was no longer blinking, nor was Renier. They looked so loving andproud that it was Herring's turn to feel embarrassment. Then he said:
"I only meant to be a tease. If I'd really thought anything--I wouldn't,of course; none of my darn business. But I'm _awfully_ glad. I've hopedall along it would happen. It's the best ever. Am I to be secret as thegrave or can I tell--any one I happen to meet?"
"Give us ten minutes to tell mamma," said Lee, "and then consider yourlips unsealed."
Herring had drawn from his pocket a stop-watch and set it going.
"Ten minutes," he said. "Thanks awfully! And good luck!"
He had turned, waving his free hand to them, and darted away.
Lee laughed scornfully.
"Any one he happens to meet!" she exclaimed. "He's headed straight forthe garden, and there he'll just _happen_ to meet Phyllis. She wasspeaking of her tomatoes at breakfast, and saying that they ought to beripening and that she was going to have a look at them."
"Lee, darling," said Renier, "nobody can possibly see us. And when Mr.Heartbeat left us alone in the front room it was a frightfully long timeago. And sometimes a fellow's arms get to aching with sheer emptiness,and--and, 'this is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and thehemlocks----'"
"Are mostly birches and larches hereabouts," said Lee, and, with a happylaugh, she drifted into a pair of arms that closed tightly about her.And, "It doesn't matter if anybody does see us," she said.
* * * * *
It was characteristic of Herring that he should enter the garden byleaping over the fence. It was also characteristic that he should catchhis foot on the top rail and fall at full length in a bed of verybeautiful and much cherished phlox.
Phyllis, in the path near by, gazed at the fallen man with mirth andanxiety.
"Hurt?" she asked.
He rose and examined a watch which he was carrying in his right hand.
"Crystal smashed," he said, "but still going. And I've got to wait fourminutes!"
"Why have you got to wait four minutes?"
"Because I promised to wait ten, and six of them have elapsed. Oh, butwon't you be excited when I am at liberty to speak! It's more excitingthan when we were lost in the woods, crossing the swamp that had neverbeen crossed before. Meanwhile, let us calm ourselves by talking ofsomething prosaic. How are the tomatoes getting on?"
Phyllis put up her hand in a smiling military salute.
"'General Blank's compliments,'" she said, "'and the colored troops areturning black in the face.'"
"My favorite breakfast dish," said Herring, "is grilled tomatoes,preceded by raw oysters and oatmeal."
"Isn't it nice," said Phyllis, "that there is money in the family afterall, and we're going to give up The Camp as an inn?"
"It would have been given up anyway," said Herring. "A determined bodyof men had so resolved in secret. There's one minute left."
For some reason they found nothing to say during the whole of thatminute. When the last second thereof had passed forever, Herring saidsimply:
"Your sister Lee and Renier are going to be married."
I cannot describe the expression that came over Phyllis's face. Itwasn't exactly jealousy; it wasn't exactly the expression of a beautifulfemale commuter who has just missed her train. It wasn't a wild look, ora happy look, or a sad look. Perhaps it was a little bit more of anaching void look than anything else.
Whatever its exact nature, the wily Herring studied it with an immensesatisfaction. And then his heart began to flurry in a sort of panic.
"Lee!" exclaimed Phyllis, "married! Why, they're nothing but children!"
She felt something encircle her waist. She looked down and saw a handand part of an arm.
"What are you doing?" she asked, in a sort of daze.
"I'm trying to establish a hold on you," said Herring, and toward theend of so saying his voice broke; "and you're not to feel lonely anddeserted with me standing here, are you?"
For a moment it seemed to Herring that Phyllis was going to extricateherself from his encircling arm. She achieved, indeed, a quarterrevolution to the left and away from him.
"Don't, Phyllis!" he cried. "Don't do it! I couldn't bear it!"
Then she ceased revolving to the left, stopped, and from a startled,uncertain, half-frightened young person became suddenly a warmly lovingyoung person, warmly loved, who revolved suddenly to the right, andbecame the recipient of a sudden storm of ecstatic exclamations andkisses.
And then, nestling close to the one and only man in the world, shelistened with complete satisfaction to his efforts to explain to herjust how beautiful and wonderful and good she was.
The Seven Darlings Page 33