“Oh, yes! Miss Norwood. Ready, Miss Jessie?”
Jessie gave her music to the accompanist at the piano. Her hands shook and she flushed and paled alternately. She wished that she had a glass of water. Her mouth felt as dry as though she were suffering from a fever.
She caught, however, Amy’s encouraging glance. Amy never showed nervousness on such an occasion as this. She was perfectly calm. Jessie tried to control her trembling as she stood before the horn and the first chords of the music were struck on the piano by the lady who played her accompaniment.
Jessie Norwood had a very sweet voice and a strong one. She had something more than that, too—sympathy. When she sang anything it was with feeling and an expression that few but professional performers obtain.
Before the song was half through the girl from Roselawn had gained Mr. Blair’s full attention and at its end he marked his approval by swift applause.
“Good! Good!” he ejaculated. “Now,” he said, swinging to face the other girls, “if you young people would do half as well, your songs would be all right. Now! Who comes next?”
He looked at his paper and announced Amy’s recitation. It was a humorous bit, that Amy did very well indeed. She had the ease that usually marks a much more practiced recitationist. After all, the full flavor of the piece was lost on radio telephony because her facial expression and her gestures would not be seen by her audience downstairs. But Mr. Blair had as encouraging a smile for her as he had had for Jessie.
The latter, in the midst of Amy’s recitation, felt that somebody was standing behind her. She turned swiftly. Smilingly looking into her flushed face, and with his hand stretched out, stood Mark Stratford. It was the first time Jessie had seen him since he had fallen with his aeroplane on the Norwood premises.
He seized the Roselawn girl’s hand and squeezed it warmly, but they did not speak until Amy had “made her bow” at the end of the recitation.
“Got to say Thank you! Jessie,” whispered the young man. “You and Amy Drew certainly were good friends of mine when I fell that time. Sorry you were not at home when I called.”