He came into the dining room, hung his cap on the back of a chair, and remarked cheerfully, “Well, Elsie, what did you send your company home so quick for? Land sake! twelve o'clock wa'n't none too late for me when I was young and goin' round to see the girls.”
But Miss Preston did not smile. On the contrary, she frowned, and when she spoke the Captain had a vague feeling that someone had dropped an icicle inside his shirt collar.
“Captain Jerry,” said the young lady, “I want to have a talk with you. Why do you think it necessary to get up and leave the room whenever Mr. Hazeltine calls? You do it every time, and to-night was no exception, except that by what you said you made me appear a little more ridiculous than usual. Now, why do you do it?”
The Captain's jaw fell. He stared at his questioner to see if she was not joking, but, finding no encouragement of that kind, stammered, “Why do I do it? Why?”
“Why, 'cause I thought you wanted me to.”
“_I_ wanted you to! Why should you think that, please?”
“Well, I don't know. I thought you two would ruther be alone. I know, when I used to go to see my wife 'fore we was married, I--”
“Please, what has that got to do with Mr. Hazeltine's visits here?”
“Why, why, nothin', I s'pose, if you say so. I jest thought--”
“What right have you to suppose that Mr. Hazeltine is calling on me more than any other person or persons in this house?”
This was something of a poser, but the Captain did his best. He sat on the edge of a chair and rubbed his knee, and then blurted out, “Well, I s'pose I--that is, we thought he was, jest 'cause he nat'rally would; that's 'bout all. If I'd thought--why, see here, Elsie, don't YOU think he's comin' to see you?”
This was a return thrust that was hard to parry, but, although the young lady's color heightened just a bit, she answered without much hesitation:
“I don't know that I do. At any rate, I have given you no authority to act on any such assumption, and I DON'T want you to put me again in the ridiculous position you did this evening, and as you have done so often before. Why, his visits might be perfect torture to me, and still I should have to endure them out of common politeness. I couldn't go away and leave him alone.”