THE BLEEDING HEART
going on in there. Waldo and his mistress were capable of any sort
of monstrous tableau if the demonstration this afternoon with the
bleeding-heart had not been unusual. She thought of going to the
priest to ask for his advice or to the policeman for his protection. In
any case, she could not stay here and after a minute of debate she
let herself out quietly and went down the street and into the Mill
Dam on her way to the library. But she had only just got to the
triangular square of lawn in front of it when the electric car eased
up alongside her and Mr. Benson leaned across and opened the door.
"Here, here," he gaily cried. "This is no way to treat your
Dutch uncle. Climb in! Hop right
in,
Rosie O'Grady, and off we'll
go to the picture show."
"Mr Benson," she began, giving his derby a hard look, "I can't
go to the movies with you tonight."
"Nonsense," he said. "Stuff and nonsense. Hop in, dear, we'll
be in time for the newsreel. Good gracious, Rosie, what are you
afraid of? Do you mean to say that you're afraid of a harmless old
codger, old enough to be your father?"
"No, Mr. Benson," she said, "I'm not afraid of you." And it
was true, she was not afraid, she was only displeased. "But I won't
go to the movies."
"Just think of me as your father," he said. "Why don't you call
me that as a matter of fact? I mean, not 'Father' but one of the
more familiar things like 'Daddy'?"
It was not at all likely, she thought, that this was taking place.
It was much too improbable that she was talking under an arc lamp
in
.a
snowfall to an elderly roue in an electric car who had invited her
to call him Daddy..
"If
you won't come with me," he said rather testily, "then I will
come into the library and read."
She was at the end of her tether. No longer scared, certainly not
respectful of his age, no longer polite for Miss Talmadge's sake, she
burst out,. "Oh, go to grass," and she scuffled up the snowy path.
"Let me tell you about my Brazilian oriole," he called desper–
ately through the quiet storm. "Waldo killed. it out of pure spite!
I preferred it to Waldo and Waldo killed it out of spite!"
Rose went on up the path.
"Rose!"
995
