“Who’s she?” Ramon queried coolly, discharging [pg 34] a cloud of smoke from the depths of his lungs. “Never heard of her.”
“Well, she’s our latest social sensation … sister of some rich lunger that recently hit town; therefore very important. But that’s not the only reason. Wait till you see her.”
“All right; introduce me to her,” Ramon suggested.
“Go on; knock him down to the lady,” Sidney proposed to his companion.
“No, you,” Conny demurred. “I refuse to take the responsibility. He’s too good looking.”
“All right,” Sidney assented. “Come on. It’s the only way I can get a look at her anyway—introducing somebody else. A good-looking girl in this town can start a regular stampede. We ought to import a few hundred.…”
It was during an intermission. They forced their way through a phalanx of men brandishing programs and pencils, each trying to bring himself exclusively to the attention of a small blonde person who seemed to have some such quality of attractiveness for men as spilled honey has for insects.
When Ramon saw her he felt as though something inside of him had bumped up against his diaphragm, taking away his breath for a moment, agitating him strangely. And he saw an answering [pg 35] surprised recognition in her wide grey eyes.
“You … you’re the girl on the train,” he remarked idiotically, as he took her hand.
She turned pink and laughed.