For response, she extended the tray toward him with
a gesture of indifference; but he still appeared to
be puzzled. “What in the world——?”
he began, then caught his wife’s eye, and had
presence of mind enough to take a damp and plastic
sandwich from the tray. “Well, I’ll
try one,” he said, but a moment later, as
he fulfilled this promise, an expression of intense
dislike came upon his features, and he would have
returned the sandwich to Gertrude. However,
as she had crossed the room to Mrs. Adams he checked
the gesture, and sat helplessly, with the sandwich
in his hand. He made another effort to get rid
of it as the waitress passed him, on her way back
to the dining-room, but she appeared not to observe
him, and he continued to be troubled by it.
Alice was a loyal daughter. “These are
delicious, mama,” she said; and turning to Russell,
“You missed it; you should have taken one.
Too bad we couldn’t have offered you what ought
to go with it, of course, but——”
She was interrupted by the second entrance of Gertrude,
who announced, “Dinner serve’,”
and retired from view.
“Well, well!” Adams said, rising from
his chair, with relief. “That’s good!
Let’s go see if we can eat it.”
And as the little group moved toward the open door
of the dining-room he disposed of his sandwich by
dropping it in the empty fireplace.
Alice, glancing back over her shoulder, was the only
one who saw him, and she shuddered in spite of herself.
Then, seeing that he looked at her entreatingly,
as if he wanted to explain that he was doing the best
he could, she smiled upon him sunnily, and began to
chatter to Russell again.
Alice kept her sprightly chatter going when they sat
down, though the temperature of the room and the sight
of hot soup might have discouraged a less determined
gayety. Moreover, there were details as unpropitious
as the heat: the expiring roses expressed not
beauty but pathos, and what faint odour they exhaled
was no rival to the lusty emanations of the Brussels
sprouts; at the head of the table, Adams, sitting
low in his chair, appeared to be unable to flatten
the uprising wave of his starched bosom; and Gertrude’s
manner and expression were of a recognizable hostility
during the long period of vain waiting for the cups
of soup to be emptied. Only Mrs. Adams made
any progress in this direction; the others merely
feinting, now and then lifting their spoons as if
they intended to do something with them.
Alice’s talk was little more than cheerful sound,
but, to fill a desolate interval, served its purpose;
and her mother supported her with ever-faithful cooings
of applausive laughter. “What a funny
thing weather is!” the girl ran on. “Yesterday
it was cool—angels had charge of it—and
to-day they had an engagement somewhere else, so the
devil saw his chance and started to move the equator
to the North Pole; but by the time he got half-way,
he thought of something else he wanted to do, and went
off; and left the equator here, right on top of us!
I wish he’d come back and get it!”
