"Now, mother, we'll carry Helen into the living room, and Ted and I are going to sit here and talk business over our cigars." I started, and Helen's free foot lightly touched mine under the table. Mr. Claybourne was delighted with the effect of his dramatic announcement. His eyes twinkled as he watched us.
"I guess you thought the old man was asleep," he chuckled, as we picked Helen up. "I wasn't born yesterday."
"No, we'll attend to you later, young lady," and with this cryptic threat Helen was carried off. Of course things were not working out as I had planned, but I was beginning to get used to Fate's perversity.
"Light up, Ted," commanded Mr. Claybourne upon our return to the dining room. I obeyed; my hand was not so steady as I should have wished.
"Old man Tyler let slip something last night that has set me thinking, Ted," he continued, locking his hands behind his head and studying my face attentively. "So that was how the milk was spilt," I thought. "Of course, I must say a blind man could have told which way the wind blew," he added, with a reckless mixture of proverbs. There was a pause, during which I was trying to compose a suitable speech.
"Well, Ted, so you two kids imagine you're in love with each other?"
"We are," I said with a decision that surprised me. Again this wasn't the speech I had been composing.
"Suppose for the sake of argument we concede this point for the moment: was it playing square not to tell me?" and Mr. Claybourne blew a cloud of smoke rings toward the ceiling.
"We only found it out last night," I answered eagerly desirous to put myself in the right. "I came here today to tell you."
He looked sharply at me, chewing his cigar. I did not flinch this time.
"Some one was pretty slow," he said, breaking into a laugh. "I found it out two weeks ago." I moistened my lips and tried a smile on my own account.
"To come down to brass tacks, Ted, can you support a wife?"
"Then what right have you to go putting ideas in my little girl's head?"
"Because, sir, I love her, and there is good reason to believe that I shall be able to support her by next summer."
"I know more about your business, through my connection with the bank, than you do yourself," he commented. "Maybe what you say will be all right, and maybe it won't. Business is a funny game, Ted; with all your eggs in one basket you can't count your chickens before they're hatched." Proverbs always are annoying, if quoted against me.