“C. Q.”; or, In the Wireless House
whispered in that low, sweet voice of hers,—“I. L. Y.—but I ’m engaged to Cosmo Graeme. Oh, Micky dear, why did you go away?” And he gave a great sob, for he knew she could never be his, and reached for her with his arms, but she vanished, leaving only the smell of the violets behind her, and he heard a tiny voice say right below his window, “Just knock him enough to push him over the line and you ’ll stay in the ‘9’ yourself.” He knew it was the little hunchback—playing shuffle-board—in the lilac arbor. There was something wrong about the whole thing he felt indignantly, and struggled to his feet amid a shower of yellow papers.
The sun was pouring through the windows of the wireless house. There was a pungent odor of violets everywhere and—he looked through the window—Mrs. Trevelyan was just going down the ladder.
It came to him with something of a shock that he must have been asleep—and that the Captain had n’t got his news, and it bothered him for a minute until he remembered the other events of the night before and how he had kept Cloud locked in his state-room. Then112
