She seized hold of his arms and gave him a vigorous shaking up.
“You see Dombey got here first; but how well you are looking,” exclaimed Adelaide, when Ruth entered the library. “How plump and fair you have grown since I was here! Let me kiss you.”
A pink glow came to Ruth’s cheek which made her pretty face look still prettier, and had its effect on Adelaide also. She added shyly: “Are you tired? Did you walk? I ought to have come for you in my phaeton.”
“My husband brought me,” replied Ruth, recovering herself in time to meet the formal salutation and the cold discriminating glance of Mrs. Schwarmer, with wifely dignity.
“I trust your father and mother are usually well. Perhaps I ought to have sent for them to assist me in this matter; but Adelaide told me you were very enthusiastic about the library and knew everything about books. There’s an alcove set aside for the very, very choice ones—books that no one should be allowed to handle, who is ignorant of their value, so the Librarian says; but he has so much to do, we are going to help him all we can.”
“Papa and mamma are in Chicago with an uncle who is very ill—not expected to live day after day.”
“How sad,” said Mrs. Schwarmer, in the even tone which made it difficult to tell whether she meant the uncle’s sickness or the father’s and mother’s absence from home. “Mr. Bombs is in Chicago, too. He went there to meet Mr. Pang, the celebrated Pyrotechnic King. Chicago is to celebrate its centennial before long, and Mr. Pang is to do wonders there. A fac simile of old Fort Dearborn will be built on purpose for him to burn down, and he will give a realistic representation of the “Great Chicago Fire” by covering the roofs of all the highest and largest buildings in the city with Roman lights, which are to be lighted all at once and burn for hours and hours, and make it appear as though the city were really being burned up again. No doubt it will be splendid. Did Mr. Bombs say anything about it in the letter you got this morning, Adelaide? I was too busy to read it.”
“He didn’t say he’d seen Pang himself, but the Pang Co. are making great preparations for the burning,” said Adelaide, “and I think it’s horrid. It’s bad enough to have a city half burned up by accident; but to pay thousands of dollars to have it burned up in play is silly and sinful and I’m going to tell Bombs so when he comes back.”
“Hush, Adelaide,” said Mrs. Schwarmer, authoritatively. “You are too young to express such strong opinions.”
“My poor uncle lost his all in that terrible fire, his wife and children even. It broke him down utterly. He has never seen a well day since,” said Ruth. “To him even the shadow of such an experience would be dreadful.”