And here and there bells in the city churches struck one!
Nothing happened. Time dragged on. The clocks struck two. Bill was worn to a frazzle. He commenced to wonder why men ever married. The girls prattled on and Bill “entered into the silence” as they talked in a chorus. He lost track of their remarks and answered so at random that Virginia demanded to know what was on his mind. At that Bill, who was trying to disguise the fact that he had a mind, braced up with a long, long story of a transaction in ginger ale and pop between himself and Eddie one night when the Community singers were at the Park.
It certainly was a long and complicated tale, and when the clocks struck three Bill was weaving uncertainly through a maze of incidents which meant as little to him as they did to his listeners.
But as the clock struck three ... Bill saw a familiar automobile approaching the De Lorme curb. Once more he cried, “Hey, Dee!” but this time he went down the steps and looked up at the De Lorme house. His young voice rang out and carried across to the Park, where the four young people on the bench had passed from jokes to a quiet conversation. One of the soldiers was telling blood-curdling tales of a front he had never seen, gas he had never been subjected to, and trenches he had only dreamed of. But he was a born talker, and his listeners shuddered and thrilled. At the call from Bill, the two soldiers glanced quickly across the street and shifted positions a little. The workman at the broken fountain, tired out, sat down on the curb and lighted a short pipe.
Then a large car drove up before the De Lorme house—a beautiful touring car. On the front seat sat a chauffeur in livery. A stunningly dressed woman and a thin man, both enveloped in large, loose dust coats, sat on the back seat. The three scanned the houses, and the man spoke to the chauffeur. He jumped out and approached Bill, who stood staring on the steps of Elizabeth Crowley’s house.
“Does Mr. De Lorme live near here?” he asked.
“Next door!” piped the two girls together.
“Thank you,” said the chauffeur, raising his cap.
The lady on the back seat smiled. The girls fluttered.
With a flourish the chauffeur opened the door, the man descended and assisted the lady to alight. Her loose cloak floated around her. She was very beautiful, and she smiled at the girls and Bill. Then she ran lightly up the steps and the two disappeared.