"Johnnie, you go home! You're the only one that seems to have any sense left! I don't know whether we're fit for you to associate with! You better turn Bob out of the garage, and I'll turn your mother out of her house, and we'll be done with it!" And she sent her dumfounded daughter upstairs with an unmistakable gesture.
Johnnie went slowly out of the front door.
Chapter Five
Emily turned upon the subdued adults in front of her. She spoke first to Bob.
"You call Martha a fool! You say that she's foolish! If I ever saw anything in my life to equal you two! I should think you'd be glad Johnnie wants to marry a nice girl like Martha!" she cried to Mrs. Benton.
"I'm not objecting to Martha, Emily; you know that. He hasn't any business to begin talking about marriage at his age! A nice husband he would make for anybody. He never earned a cent in his life; you know that." She spoke guardedly now.
"Why shouldn't he be thinking about marriage at his age? It's exactly the age he would think about it! I tell you they could both do a lot worse than this. I wish she would marry him. But you went and told her to, Bob. You're a perfect idiot, sometimes. She'll never marry him now."
"She'll never get anybody to marry her if she don't watch her step. Getting mixed up in cases like this!"
"You don't need to worry about this case, Emily," Mrs. Benton announced. "I'll settle that. I told Johnnie he needn't get so excited. Everybody in town will know, the minute they see that item, that French put it there for spite, because we did build our parking place there. I'm going to make him apologize. I'm going to call my committee together at once. The family of every woman on it is not going to be at the mercy of that unscrupulous man. First Johnnie's play; then this about Martha. Johnnie says she's only played golf a little with him. I'm going straight down to his office. I've got to go before Johnnie gets there. He wants to fight him, of course!" She actually started towards the door.