“Father says she went in a great hurry; don’t know the cause of her sudden departure. Looks funny, doesn’t it?” inquiringly.
“Very,” knowingly.
“Bad, eh?” with a scowl.
“Horrible!”
“Well, you hear me, young man; when your sister walks off on an unknown journey and to be gone an unknown time, she generally comes back and finds me on an equally unknown voyage, and having about as much idea when that voyage will end as a jackass knows about Sunday;” and he thrust his hands savagely into his coat-tail pockets, and assumed the air of a man perfectly indifferent as to what the world liked or disliked.
“And when your sister forgets that she has an affianced husband dodging about your father’s back door every night to catch but a moment’s happiness in her society, why—she’ll come back and find me off on a pleasure trip, somewhere,” and poor Lester faced the other, and mingled his disgust at the state of affairs with that of his friend.
“Let us clear out, and not come back until they have experienced the same disappointment as we do now—that is, if our absence will affect them that way,” with a dubious shake of his head.
“I’ll do it, Hugh! I’ll go to-morrow!” cried Lester, with an injured expression on his face.
“Then, it’s agreed. We’ll get Cobb and take the Orion and skip to—well, anywhere, so we don’t get back here under two months.” Hugh whistled an air of satisfaction at the thought of the misery he was going to bring to the heart of Marie Hathaway.
That evening Cobb was informed of Hugh’s intention of starting the next day in the Orion, and making a tour of the United States.