第68章 THE NINTH - THE THIRD VISION(12)

With a perceptible effort Eleanor assumed a tone of commonsense conventionality."He's a boy I met first when we were skating last year.His sister has the study next to mine."Father looked at daughter, and she met his eyes."Well? ""It's all happened so quickly, Daddy," she said, answering all that was implicit in that "Well?" She went on, "I would have told you about him if he had seemed to matter.But it was just a friendship.It didn't seem to matter in any serious way.Of course we'd been good friends--and talked about all sorts of things.And then suddenly you see,"--her tone was offhand and matter-of-fact--" he has to go to France."She stared at her father with the expression of a hostess who talks about the weather.And then the tears gathered and ran down her cheek.

She turned her face to the Serpentine and clenched her fist.

But she was now fairly weeping."I didn't know he cared.Ididn't know I cared."

His next question took a little time in coming.

"And it's love, little Norah?" he asked.

She was comfortably crying now, the defensive altogether abandoned."It's love, Daddy....Oh! love!....He's going tomorrow." For a minute or so neither spoke.Scrope's mind was entirely made up in the matter.He approved altogether of his daughter.But the traditions of parentage, his habit of restrained decision, made him act a judicial part."I'd like just to see this boy," he said, and added: "If it isn't rather interfering....""Dear Daddy!" she said."Dear Daddy!" and touched his hand.

"He'll be coming here...."

"If you could tell me a few things about him," said Scrope."Is he an undergraduate?""You see," began Eleanor and paused to marshal her facts."He graduated this year.Then he's been in training at Cambridge.

Properly he'd have a fellowship.He took the Natural Science tripos, zoology chiefly.He's good at philosophy, but of course our Cambridge philosophy is so silly--McTaggart blowing bubbles....His father's a doctor, Sir Hedley Riverton."As she spoke her eyes had been roving up the path and down.

"He's coming," she interrupted.She hesitated."Would you mind if I went and spoke to him first, Daddy?""Of course go to him.Go and warn him I'm here," said Scrope.

Eleanor got up, and was immediately greeted with joyful gestures by an approaching figure in khaki.The two young people quickened their paces as they drew nearer one another.There was a rapid greeting; they stood close together and spoke eagerly.

Scrope could tell by their movements when he became the subject of their talk.He saw the young man start and look over Eleanor's shoulder, and he assumed an attitude of philosophical contemplation of the water, so as to give the young man the liberty of his profile.

He did not look up until they were quite close to him, and when he did he saw a pleasant, slightly freckled fair face a little agitated, and very honest blue eyes."I hope you don't think, Sir, that it's bad form of me to ask Eleanor to come up and see me as I've done.I telegraphed to her on an impulse, and it's been very kind of her to come up to me.""Sit down," said Scrope, "sit down.You're Mr.Riverton?""Yes, Sir," said the young man.He had the frequent "Sir" of the subaltern.Scrope was in the centre of the seat, and the young officer sat down on one side of him while Eleanor took up a watching position on her father's other hand."You see, Sir, we've hardly known each other--I mean we've been associated over a philosophical society and all that sort of thing, but in a more familiar way, I mean...."He hung for a moment, just a little short of breath.Scrope helped him with a grave but sympathetic movement of the head.

"It's a little difficult to explain," the young man apologized.

"We hadn't understood, I think, either of us very much.We'd just been friendly--and liked each other.And so it went on even when I was training.And then when I found I had to go out --I'm going out a little earlier than I expected--I thought suddenly I wouldn't ever go to Cambridge again at all perhaps--and there was something in one of her letters....I thought of it a lot, Sir, I thought it all over, and I thought it wasn't right for me to do anything and I didn't do anything until this morning.And then I sort of had to telegraph.I know it was frightful cheek and bad form and all that, Sir.It is.It would be worse if she wasn't different--I mean, Sir, if she was just an ordinary girl....But I had a sort of feeling--just wanting to see her.I don't suppose you've ever felt anything, Sir, as Ifelt I wanted to see her--and just hear her speak to me...."He glanced across Scrope at Eleanor.It was as if he justified himself to them both.

Scrope glanced furtively at his daughter who was leaning forward with tender eyes on her lover, and his heart went out to her.But his manner remained judicial.

"All this is very sudden," he said.

"Or you would have heard all about it, Sir," said young Riverton."It's just the hurry that has made this seem furtive.

All that there is between us, Sir, is just the two telegrams we've sent, hers and mine.I hope you won't mind our having a little time together.We won't do anything very committal.It's as much friendship as anything.I go by the evening train to-morrow.""Mm," said Serope with his eye on Eleanor.

"In these uncertain times," he began.

"Why shouldn't I take a risk too, Daddy?" said Eleanor sharply.

"I know there's that side of it," said the young man."Ioughtn't to have telegraphed," he said.

"Can't I take a risk?" exclaimed Eleanor."I'm not a doll.Idon't want to live in wadding until all the world is safe for me."Scrope looked at the glowing face of the young man.

"Is this taking care of her?" he asked.

"If you hadn't telegraphed--!" she cried with a threat in her voice, and left it at that.

"Perhaps I feel about her--rather as if she was as strong as I am--in those ways.Perhaps I shouldn't.I could hardly endure myself, Sir--cut off from her.And a sort of blank.Nothing said.""You want to work out your own salvation," said Scrope to his daughter.