Off came the gray hat, and to each one of the ladies he bowed low, and he says: "Delighted—delighted to see you again. Indeed we remember, don't we? And Timothy! Eppleby! Silas! I am delighted."
Then there was a long pause. We all just stood there.
Then Silas, as the chief leading citizen, he clears his throat and he says: "Do you—ah—remain long?" I don't know a better sample of what Mr. Nicholas Nordman's manner done to us all. "Remain!" Silas never said "remain" in his life before. Always, always he would, under any real other circumstances, have said "stay."
The whole few minutes was like that, while we just stood there. And perhaps it was like that most of all in the minute when it ought to have been like that the least. This was when Mr. Nordman told a plan he had. "I want you all," he said, "and a few more whom I well remember, to do me the honor to lunch with me to-morrow in my car. We can have a fine time to talk over the—ah—old days."
There was a dead pause. I guess everybody was figgering on the same thing; finally Eppleby asked about it. "Much obliged," says he. "What car?"
"My private car," says Mr. Nordman, "somewhere on the siding. You'll recognize her. She's gray."
"Much obliged," "Pleased, I'm sure," "Pleased to come," says everybody.
And we broke up and he walked along with me. Halfway down the block, who should I see ahead of me but Lucy Hackett. I never said anything till we overtook her. When I spoke she wheeled and flushed up like a girl, and put out her hand so nice and eager, and with her pretty way that was a glad way and was a grand lady way too.
I says: "Mr. Nordman, you meet Miss Lucy Hackett, that I guess you can remember each other."
He took off his hat and bowed. "Ah, Miss Lucy," says he, "this is a pleasure. How good to see you again!"