At the coarse insult, the righteously angered Gardner girl threw her chin in the air.
“I’m sorry I’m intruding,” she said. “I’ll be going.”
“Carol! I——” Nathan’s face was piteous with the humiliation of it.
“Nathaniel!” The father’s voice was ominous. “As soon as Miss Gardner’s gone, come to the kitchen. I’ve pressing business to discuss with you!”
The Gardner girl departed in high pique. The boy’s face wore an unhealthy look as he came into the kitchen. Edith was already sobbing on her mother’s sharp shoulder. Johnathan closed the door and spoke first.
IV
“You dared,” he cried hoarsely, “to bring her right here into this house! You dared!”
“Well,” demanded the son desperately, “what do you want me to do? Sneak up some back alley with her?”
The apparent impudence of the question was so flagrant that Johnathan’s temper exploded with a bang. Like lightning he ripped a hand from his pocket and struck Nathan in the head, an unexpected blow so fierce and hard it knocked the boy sprawling over a clothes basket.
“Pa!—I——”