The Rise Of Silas Lapham By William Dean Howells Part 1 - William Dean Howells (best e reader for academics txt) 📗

Not Go Back To The Office To-Day."

 

"Then He Won'T Go Up On The Ten O'Clock Boat,"

Pen Reminded her.

 

"No,  He Won'T. You Can Just Drive Over To The Hotel As Soon

As You'Re Through,  Girls,  And Telegraph That He'S Not Well,

And Won'T Be At The Office Till To-Morrow. I'M Not Going

To Have Them Send Anybody Down Here To Bother Him."

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"That'S A Blow," Said Pen.  "I Didn'T Know But They

Might Send----" She Looked demurely At Her Sister--"Dennis!"

 

"Mamma!" Cried irene.

 

"Well,  I Declare,  There'S No Living with This Family

Any More," Said Penelope.

 

"There,  Pen,  Be Done!" Commanded her Mother.  But Perhaps She

Did Not Intend To Forbid Her Teasing.  It Gave A Pleasant

Sort Of Reality To The Affair That Was In her Mind,

And Made What She Wished appear Not Only Possible But Probable.

 

Lapham Got Up And Lounged about,  Fretting and Rebelling

As Each Boat Departed without Him,  Through The Day;

Before Night He Became Very Cross,  In spite Of The Efforts

Of The Family To Soothe Him,  And Grumbled that He Had Been

Kept From Going up To Town.  "I Might As Well Have Gone

As Not," He Repeated,  Till His Wife Lost Her Patience.

 

"Well,  You Shall Go To-Morrow,  Silas,  If You Have To Be

Carried to The Boat."

 

"I Declare," Said Penelope,  "The Colonel Don'T Pet Worth

A Cent."

 

The Six O'Clock Boat Brought Corey.  The Girls Were

Sitting on The Piazza,  And Irene Saw Him First.

 

"O Pen!" She Whispered,  With Her Heart In her Face;

And Penelope Had No Time For Mockery Before He Was At

The Steps.

 

"I Hope Colonel Lapham Isn'T Ill," He Said,  And They

Could Hear Their Mother Engaged in a Moral Contest

With Their Father Indoors.

 

"Go And Put On Your Coat! I Say You Shall! It Don'T Matter

How He Sees You At The Office,  Shirt-Sleeves Or Not.

You'Re In a Gentleman'S House Now--Or You Ought To Be--And

You Shan'T See Company In your Dressing-Gown."

 

Penelope Hurried in to Subdue Her Mother'S Anger.

 

"Oh,  He'S Very Much Better,  Thank You!" Said Irene,

Speaking up Loudly To Drown The Noise Of The Controversy.

 

"I'M Glad Of That," Said Corey,  And When She Led

Him Indoors The Vanquished colonel Met His Visitor

In A Double-Breasted frock-Coat,  Which He Was Still

Buttoning up.  He Could Not Persuade Himself At Once

That Corey Had Not Come Upon Some Urgent Business Matter,

And When He Was Clear That He Had Come Out Of Civility,

Surprise Mingled with His Gratification That He

Should Be The Object Of Solicitude To The Young Man.

In Lapham'S Circle Of Acquaintance They Complained

When They Were Sick,  But They Made No Womanish Inquiries

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After One Another'S Health,  And Certainly Paid No Visits

Of Sympathy Till Matters Were Serious.  He Would Have

Enlarged upon The Particulars Of His Indisposition If He

Had Been Allowed to Do So; And After Tea,  Which Corey Took

With Them,  He Would Have Remained to Entertain Him If His

Wife Had Not Sent Him To Bed.  She Followed him To See

That He Took Some Medicine She Had Prescribed for Him,

But She Went First To Penelope'S Room,  Where She Found

The Girl With A Book In her Hand,  Which She Was Not Reading.

 

"You Better Go Down," Said The Mother.  "I'Ve Got To Go

To Your Father,  And Irene Is All Alone With Mr. Corey;

And I Know She'Ll Be On Pins And Needles Without You'Re

There To Help Make It Go Off."

 

"She'D Better Try To Get Along Without Me,  Mother,"

Said Penelope Soberly.  "I Can'T Always Be With Them."

 

"Well," Replied mrs. Lapham,  "Then I Must.  There'Ll Be

A Perfect Quaker Meeting down There."

 

"Oh,  I Guess 'Rene Will Find Something to Say If You

Leave Her To Herself.  Or If She Don'T,  He Must.

It'Ll Be All Right For You To Go Down When You Get Ready;

But I Shan'T Go Till Toward The Last.  If He'S Coming

Here To See Irene--And I Don'T Believe He'S Come On

Father'S Account--He Wants To See Her And Not Me.

If She Can'T Interest Him Alone,  Perhaps He'D As Well Find

It Out Now As Any Time.  At Any Rate,  I Guess You'D Better

Make The Experiment.  You'Ll Know Whether It'S A Success

If He Comes Again."

 

"Well," Said The Mother,  "May Be You'Re Right.  I'Ll Go

Down Directly.  It Does Seem As If He Did Mean Something,

After All."

 

Mrs. Lapham Did Not Hasten To Return To Her Guest.

In Her Own Girlhood It Was Supposed that If A Young Man

Seemed to Be Coming to See A Girl,  It Was Only Common-

Sense To Suppose That He Wished to See Her Alone; And Her

Life In town Had Left Mrs. Lapham'S Simple Traditions

In This Respect Unchanged.  She Did With Her Daughter

As Her Mother Would Have Done With Her.

 

Where Penelope Sat With Her Book,  She Heard The Continuous

Murmur Of Voices Below,  And After A Long Interval She

Heard Her Mother Descend.  She Did Not Read The Open

Book That Lay In her Lap,  Though She Kept Her Eyes Fast

On The Print.  Once She Rose And Almost Shut The Door,

So That She Could Scarcely Hear; Then She Opened it

Wide Again With A Self-Disdainful Air,  And Resolutely

Went Back To Her Book,  Which Again She Did Not Read.

But She Remained in her Room Till It Was Nearly Time For

Corey To Return To His Boat.

 

When They Were Alone Again,  Irene Made A Feint Of Scolding

Her For Leaving her To Entertain Mr. Corey.

 

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"Why! Didn'T You Have A Pleasant Call?" Asked penelope.

 

Irene Threw Her Arms Round Her.  "Oh,  It Was A Splendid

Call! I Didn'T Suppose I Could Make It Go Off So Well.

We Talked nearly The Whole Time About You!"

 

"I Don'T Think That Was A Very Interesting subject."

 

"He Kept Asking about You.  He Asked everything.

You Don'T Know How Much He Thinks Of You,  Pen.  O Pen!

What Do You Think Made Him Come? Do You Think He Really

Did Come To See How Papa Was?" Irene Buried her Face

In Her Sister'S Neck.

 

Penelope Stood With Her Arms At Her Side,  Submitting.

"Well," She Said,  "I Don'T Think He Did,  Altogether."

 

Irene,  All Glowing,  Released her.  "Don'T You--Don'T You

Really? O Pen! Don'T You Think He Is Nice? Don'T You

Think He'S Handsome? Don'T You Think I Behaved horridly

When We First Met Him This Evening,  Not Thanking him For

Coming? I Know He Thinks I'Ve No Manners.  But It Seemed

As If It Would Be Thanking him For Coming to See Me.

Ought I To Have Asked him To Come Again,  When He Said

Good-Night? I Didn'T; I Couldn'T. Do You Believe He'Ll

Think I Don'T Want Him To? You Don'T Believe He Would

Keep Coming if He Didn'T--Want To----"

 

"He Hasn'T Kept Coming a Great Deal,  Yet," Suggested penelope.

 

"No; I Know He Hasn'T. But If He--If He Should?"

 

"Then I Should Think He Wanted to."

 

"Oh,  Would You--Would You? Oh,  How Good You Always Are,

Pen! And You Always Say What You Think.  I Wish There

Was Some One Coming to See You Too.  That'S All That I

Don'T Like About It.  Perhaps----He Was Telling about

His Friend There In texas----"

 

"Well," Said Penelope,  "His Friend Couldn'T Call Often

From Texas.  You Needn'T Ask Mr. Corey To Trouble

About Me,  'Rene. I Think I Can Manage To Worry Along,

If You'Re Satisfied."

 

"Oh,  I Am,  Pen.  When Do You Suppose He'Ll Come Again?"

Irene Pushed some Of Penelope'S Things Aside On The

Dressing-Case,  To Rest Her Elbow And Talk At Ease.

Penelope Came Up And Put Them Back.

 

"Well,  Not To-Night," She Said; "And If That'S What You'Re

Sitting up For----"

 

Irene Caught Her Round The Neck Again,  And Ran Out

Of The Room.

 

The Colonel Was Packed off On The Eight O'Clock Boat

The Next Morning; But His Recovery Did Not Prevent Corey

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From Repeating his Visit In a Week.  This Time Irene Came

Radiantly Up To Penelope'S Room,  Where She Had Again

Withdrawn Herself.  "You Must Come Down,  Pen," She Said.

"He'S Asked if You'Re Not Well,  And Mamma Says You'Ve Got

To Come."

 

After That Penelope Helped irene Through With Her Calls,

And Talked them Over With Her Far Into The Night After Corey

Was Gone.  But When The Impatient Curiosity Of Her Mother

Pressed her For Some Opinion Of The Affair,  She Said,

"You Know As Much As I Do,  Mother."

 

"Don'T He Ever Say Anything to You About Her--Praise

Her Up,  Any?"

 

"He'S Never Mentioned irene To Me."

 

"He Hasn'T To Me,  Either," Said Mrs. Lapham,  With A Sigh

Of Trouble.  "Then What Makes Him Keep Coming?"

 

"I Can'T Tell You.  One Thing,  He Says There Isn'T A House

Open In boston Where He'S Acquainted.  Wait Till Some

Of His Friends Get Back,  And Then If He Keeps Coming,

It'Ll Be Time To Inquire."

 

"Well!" Said The Mother; But As The Weeks Passed she

Was Less And Less Able To Attribute Corey'S Visits To His

Loneliness In town,  And Turned to Her Husband For Comfort.

 

"Silas,  I Don'T Know As We Ought To Let Young Corey Keep

Coming so.  I Don'T Quite Like It,  With All His Family Away."

 

"He'S Of Age," Said The Colonel.  "He Can Go Where He Pleases.

It Don'T Matter Whether His Family'S Here Or Not."

 

"Yes,  But If They Don'T Want He Should Come? Should You

Feel Just Right About Letting him?"

 

"How'Re You Going to Stop Him? I Swear,  Persis,  I Don'T Know

What'S Got Over You! What Is It? You Didn'T Use To Be So.

But To Hear You Talk,  You'D Think Those Coreys Were Too

Good For This World,  And We Wa'N'T Fit For 'Em To Walk On."

 

"I'M Not Going to Have 'Em Say We Took An Advantage

Of Their Being away