We laughed, and Jack continued:
“Ye-us; be-u-tiful! be-u-tiful!” she said, and then I told her we were going to-night with Miss Sophie.
“‘Oh!’ she almost screeched, and nearly turned another somersault, and ran toward home. She told him, of course, and he must meddle and dictate! Come on! I’m going, and so is Chance; it will be fun to see him run up and down.”
Here Katy interposed, suggesting that we take M. Seguin’s advice and stay at home. “He had some reason besides the cold,” she said. But Jack was determined, and began to call back the dog, who had started for home.
“Jack,” Katy said, and I never saw her so firm, “if Chance comes, I shall stay at home. Miss Sophie”—and her voice shook—“does not like him, nor anything pertaining to the Seguins. She was white as a corpse when Chance was at the door clamoring to get in. She is afraid of dogs.”
“That’s so!” Jack said. “She was like a piece of chalk. Chancey, you will have to go home, but you must send him,” he said, turning to me. “He won’t budge for me.”
The dog had crouched at my feet, and was looking up earnestly at me as I stroked his head and bade him go home. He did not want to go, but I persisted until he started off very slowly, looking back occasionally, to see if he might not be recalled.
“If we had known,” I often said to myself afterward—“if we had only known, the events of that dreadful night might have been prevented.”
But we didn’t know, and we went forward blindly, our spirits rising as we joined the throng, all seemingly hurrying in the same direction—to the Neva.
Only those who have seen the Neva in the height of its glory can imagine the beauty of that night, when the frozen river was full of gayly costumed people, some skating, some driving, some gliding swiftly down the steep toboggans, others sitting in the little booths, looking on. Over all was the full moon, which, with the many lanterns and torches, made it nearly as light as day. We had seen nothing like it since we had been in the city, and Jack was wild with delight, as we hurried on to where Sophie was waiting for us at the foot of some stairs leading down to the river.