Don't look so scared or she
will think there is something up. She has never taken her eyes off you
since we sat down!"
"She's rather a nice girl!" Kelson said. "I wish I didn't look quite
such a blackguard--and--I wish I hadn't to be quite such a blackguard.
Who'll pay for all this? Will she?"
"We shan't, anyway," Curtis sneered. "Come, this is no time to be
sentimental. It was a question of life and death with us, and we've
only done what any one else would do in our circumstances. The girl
won't lose much! Are you ready?"
Curtis rose, and Kelson, who was accustomed to obey him, reluctantly
followed suit. A look almost suggestive of fear came into the girl's
eyes as they encountered those of Curtis, and she shot a swift glance
at an inner door. Then Kelson spoke, and as she turned her head
towards him, her lips parted in a sort of smile.
"Nice night, miss, isn't it?" Kelson said, halting half-way between
the counter and the chairs. "Aren't you a bit lonely here all by
yourself?"
"Sometimes," the girl laughed. "But my mother's in the room there,"
and she nodded in the direction of the closed door. "And one can't be
dull when she's about. She's that there active as a rule, there's no
keeping her quiet--only just at present"--here she glanced
apprehensively at Curtis--"she's recovering from ague. Gets it every
year about this time. Your friend seems to have kind of taken a fancy
to our ham!"
Kelson looked at Curtis and his heart thumped.
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