Поворот гвинта
Chapter 14
Thewholethingwasvirtuallyoutbetweenus.“Ah,ofcourse,she’sajolly,‘perfect’lady;but,afterall,I’mafellow,don’tyousee?that’s—well,gettingon.”
Ilingeredtherewithhimaninstanteversokindly.“Yes,you’regettingon.”Oh,butIfelthelpless!
Ihavekepttothisdaytheheartbreakinglittleideaofhowheseemedtoknowthatandtoplaywithit.“Andyoucan’tsayI’venotbeenawfullygood,canyou?”
Ilaidmyhandonhisshoulder,for,thoughIfelthowmuchbetteritwouldhavebeentowalkon,Iwasnotyetquiteable.“No,Ican’tsaythat,Miles.”
“Exceptjustthatonenight,youknow—!”
“Thatonenight?”Icouldn’tlookasstraightashe.
“Why,whenIwentdown—wentoutofthehouse.”
“Oh,yes.ButIforgetwhatyoudiditfor.”
“Youforget?”—hespokewiththesweetextravaganceofchildishreproach.“Why,itwastoshowyouIcould!”
“Oh,yes,youcould.”
“AndIcanagain.”
IfeltthatImight,perhaps,afterall,succeedinkeepingmywitsaboutme.“Certainly.Butyouwon’t.”
“No,notthatagain.Itwasnothing.”
“Itwasnothing,”Isaid.“Butwemustgoon.”
Heresumedourwalkwithme,passinghishandintomyarm.“ThenwhenamIgoingback?”
Iwore,inturningitover,mymostresponsibleair.“Wereyouveryhappyatschool?”
Hejustconsidered.
