What he was trying to act up to was his sense of fairness. Hard
as it was under the circumstances, he was more anxious to be fair
to this girl than to any other living being.
"I mustn't spoil her afternoon, just because my own mind is so
dizzy!" he thought reproachfully.
So, a moment later, he became merrier than ever---on the surface.
It was Laura's turn to take a covert look at his face. She wondered,
for she felt that Prescott's assumed gayety had an almost feverish
note.
"How much further are you going to drive?" she asked presently.
"The only pleasure I recognize in the matter, Laura, is yours.
So I am wholly at your command."
He tried to answer lightly and gallantly, yet felt, an instant
later, that his words had had a strained sound.
The same thought had struck the girl.
Yet, instead of asking him to turn the horse's head about, Laura
ventured:
"Gridley must be pleasant, as your home town, yet I fancy you are
already looking forward to getting back to your ideals at West Point?"
"Is she tired of having me around?" wondered Cadet Prescott, wincing
within, as though he had been stabbed.
"I'm keener for West Point, every day, Laura," he answered quietly.
"Yet, even in the case of such a grand old place as the Military
Academy, it is worth while to get away once in a while.
Pages:
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64