“I’d planned for us to go to the City Hall and get the license this morning, and get married.”
“Oh, Tommy!” she said, with a pout. “I don’t want to get married. I’m too young!”
“Don’t be silly!” he said impatiently. “We’ll have a bite of lunch and then we’ll hurry down town.”
“I think it’s silly to get married. We’re too young. What could we live on?”
“You needn’t worry about that,” he said, wounded. “I dare say I can manage to take care of you.”
“I don’t think you could, Tommy. We’d only be miserable. No, let’s not be married.”
“Esther!” he cried, appalled. “What’s the matter with you?”
“I think we’ve made a mistake. Let’s not be silly and make it any worse. The best thing would be for us to part. I can look out for myself perfectly well. I know a man here in the city—I dropped in to see him this morning, and he said he’d get me an engagement to go on the stage. He’s an advance agent, or something. I met him out in Millersburg. He has lots of pull.”
“Don’t talk that way!” he thundered. “Don’t you realize what you’ve done? Haven’t you enough sense to see that you’re compromised?”
“No one knows anything about it, and there’s no harm done. I’ll write to mommer and tell her I ran away to go on the stage.”