The Make-Believe Man | Page 8

I saw that to the beautiful lady my explanation carried no meaning
whatsoever, but before I could explain, the young man with whom she
had come on board walked toward us.
Neither did he appear to find in her talking to a stranger anything
embarrassing. He halted and smiled. His smile was pleasant, but
entirely vague. In the few minutes I was with him, I learned that it was
no sign that he was secretly pleased. It was merely his expression. It
was as though a photographer had said: "Smile, please," and he had
smiled.
When he joined us, out of deference to the young lady I raised my hat,
but the youth did not seem to think that outward show of respect was
necessary, and kept his hands in his pockets. Neither did he cease
smoking. His first remark to the lovely lady somewhat startled me.
"Have you got a brass bed in your room?" he asked. The beautiful lady
said she had.

"So've I," said the young man. "They do you rather well, don't they?
And it's only three dollars. How much is that?"
"Four times three would be twelve," said the lady. "Twelve shillings."
The young man was smoking a cigarette in a long amber cigarette-
holder. I never had seen one so long. He examined the end of his
cigarette-holder, and, apparently surprised and relieved at finding a
cigarette there, again smiled contentedly.
The lovely lady pointed at the marble shaft rising above Madison
Square.
"That is the tallest sky-scraper," she said, "in New York." I had just
informed her of that fact. The young man smiled as though he were
being introduced to the building, but exhibited no interest.
"IS it?" he remarked. His tone seemed to show that had she said, "That
is a rabbit," he would have been equally gratified.
"Some day," he stated, with the same startling abruptness with which
he had made his first remark, "our war-ships will lift the roofs off those
sky-scrapers."
The remark struck me in the wrong place. It was unnecessary. Already
I resented the manner of the young man toward the lovely lady. It
seemed to me lacking in courtesy. He knew her, and yet treated her
with no deference, while I, a stranger, felt so grateful to her for being
what I knew one with such a face must be, that I could have knelt at her
feet. So I rather resented the remark.
"If the war-ships you send over here," I said doubtfully, "aren't more
successful in lifting things than your yachts, you'd better keep them at
home and save coal!"
Seldom have I made so long a speech or so rude a speech, and as soon
as I had spoken, on account of the lovely lady, I was sorry.
But after a pause of half a second she laughed delightedly.
"I see," she cried, as though it were a sort of a game. "He means Lipton!
We can't lift the cup, we can't lift the roofs. Don't you see, Stumps!"
she urged. In spite of my rude remark, the young man she called
Stumps had continued to smile happily. Now his expression changed to
one of discomfort and utter gloom, and then broke out into a radiant
smile.
"I say!" he cried. "That's awfully good: 'If your war-ships aren't any
better at lifting things--' Oh, I say, really," he protested, "that's awfully

good." He seemed to be afraid I would not appreciate the rare
excellence of my speech. "You know, really," he pleaded, "it is
AWFULLY good!"
We were interrupted by the sudden appearance, in opposite directions,
of Kinney and the young man with the real hat-band. Both were excited
and disturbed. At the sight of the young man, Stumps turned
appealingly to the golden-rod girl. He groaned aloud, and his
expression was that of a boy who had been caught playing truant.
"Oh, Lord!" he exclaimed, "what's he huffy about now? He TOLD me I
could come on deck as soon as we started."
The girl turned upon me a sweet and lovely smile and nodded. Then,
with Stumps at her side, she moved to meet the young man. When he
saw them coming he halted, and, when they joined him, began talking
earnestly, almost angrily. As he did so, much to my bewilderment, he
glared at me. At the same moment Kinney grabbed me by the arm.
"Come below!" he commanded. His tone was hoarse and thrilling with
excitement.
"Our adventures," he whispered, "have begun!"
II
I felt, for me, adventures had already begun, for my meeting with the
beautiful lady was the event of my life, and though Kinney and I had
agreed to share our adventures, of this one I knew I could not even
speak to him. I wanted to