For the first time
since he met her, she seemed to have nothing more demanding to do than to
emulate "the innocent moon, who nothing does but shine, and yet moves all
the slumbering surges of the world."
There was no doubt about Quin's "slumbering surges" being moved. Within
twenty-four hours of her return to town he became totally and hopelessly
demoralized. Education and business were, after all, but means to an end,
and when he saw what he conceived to be a short cut to heaven, he rashly
discarded wings and leaped toward his heart's desire.
The hour before closing at the factory became a time of acute torture. He
who usually stayed till the last minute, engrossed in winding up the
affairs of the day, now seemed perfectly willing to trust their
completion to any one who would undertake it. The instant the whistle
blew he was off like a shot, out of the factory yard, clinging to the
platform of a crowded trolley, catching an interurban car, plunging
through a thicket, down an old lane, and emerging into Paradise.
The Rannys were having the adventure of their lives with the secret farm,
an adventure shared with equal enthusiasm by their co-conspirators.
Pages:
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220