“Oh! Nelson Haley! Did—did you come to look for me, too?”
“Janice—my Janice!” murmured the school teacher, looking at her sitting all rosy and wind-berumpled by the open fire, and forgetting to stamp the snow from his boots. “I certainly did come for you!”
CHAPTER XXX
“JINGLE BELLS!”
The Elder’s hired man brought out the sleigh and took Janice, Marty and Nelson Haley down to the Day house on Hillside Avenue; the Elder insisted on that. Marty sat in front with the driver, while Nelson and Janice cowered under the buffalo robes on the rear seat.
There was nothing particularly private in the conversation between the school teacher and Janice Day during this ride through the storm; yet it was very illuminating for both of them.
The subject of the Bowmans came up naturally, for Nelson, in telling of little Lottie Drugg’s adventure, of course mentioned the difficulty Frank Bowman had gotten into.
“And he seems like a pretty nice fellow, Janice,” said Nelson generously. “I never really talked with him until to-day. He must be quite wrapped up in his work to spend so much of his time on it.”
Janice laughed—a happy little laugh. Why! she couldn’t help laughing now.
“Mr. Bowman is always talking about ‘making good’ with the company,” she said, “but it’s Phoebe Harrison he wants to make good with. Oh! I know.”
“So he admitted to me,” said Nelson earnestly. “I have an idea he will succeed, too. She’s an awfully pretty girl. But I am afraid his sister’s affair isn’t running so smoothly.”