“You must dry your eyes,” he whispered. “They must not know. I will telegraph Mr. Lawrence to-morrow.”
The girl dabbled at her eyes, and a moment later, when Miss Tiddings entered the room and sniffed politely, she saw no traces of the tempest.
“I’ll wire,” whispered Larry as he held her hands. “Bear it a little longer.”
“He’ll never consent,” she whispered. “Oh Larry, take me away. I cannot endure it much longer.”
Larry Kirkland left St. Gertrude’s, his brain surging with new emotions. He scarcely heard Winans’ raillery as he went to bed and for a long time remained awake, striving to lay some plans for the future.
CHAPTER XXIV
The Quarrel With the Major
Major James Lawrence was at breakfast with Bill Krag, on the wide porch at Shasta View bungalow, when a telegram was handed to him by Chun, the Chinese youth who had assumed charge of the housekeeping.
The Major, who had been arguing with Krag, ripped open the envelope, frowned, reread the message, frowned more heavily and commenced to storm:
“Young rascal!” he shouted. “I suppose he has had more trouble at school. All foolishness to send a boy to college, waste of time—and he does nothing but get into trouble”——
“But, Major,” argued Krag, who was breaking his egg, “you took the opposite end of the argument the other evening. You insisted that a boy without a college education was like a boat without a pilot.”