I told him in a bashful whisper.
"Well, you want to watch out, and when I holler 'Rhoda' you come where I am. That will be when the music strikes up. Don't forget."
"No," I said again.
"If you are not there, I might take some other girl," he remarked, as a final caution.
Theodore Otway was going by, led by a lady. She was arguing seriously with him.
"Of course you must dance the first dance with your cousin!" I heard her cry. "I told you yesterday that you must. You can ask the little girl some other time."
He gave me a miserable glance as he went to the other end of the room.
I hardly noticed him. I was so worried over the stout boy, who roved about the room, here and there and everywhere. Once he hid behind a sofa, and once he went out in the hall to get a drink of lemonade. He unbuttoned his jacket, and tried to make himself look different by crossing his eyes. I was sure that he did. And, just when the music struck up, he disappeared altogether! The other little girls all had partners. I was the only one left out. I felt it very keenly.
Suddenly I heard some one shout, "Rhoda!"