“No, the hammock was dark—and father watched. They went right up to their rooms without stopping.”
Roberts nodded, and looked out of the window. The light in the residence district of the town was on a midnight schedule and was now 272 cut off. He turned back. A moment he stood so, silent, facing the girl there in the dimly lighted hall. Under a sudden instinct he reached out and laid a hand compellingly on each of her shoulders, holding her captive.
“You don’t misunderstand my intruding here to-night, do you, Elice?” he asked directly.
“Misunderstand!” The girl looked at him steadily, the dark circles about her eyes eloquent. “Never. How can you fancy such a thing! Never.”
“And you’re willing to trust me to bring everything out right? It will be all right, take my word for that.”
Still the girl did not stir, but gazed at him. “Yes, I trust you implicitly, always,” she said.
A moment longer the hands held their place before they dropped.
“All right, then,” he said perfunctorily, “go to bed. I’ll take care of Steve—to-night and in the future. Don’t worry. Good-night.”
“Wait,” a hand was upon his arm, a compelling hand. “You mean—”
Roberts smiled deliberately, his slow, impersonal smile.