"That you liked me, I mean. That under happier circumstances, you would give me the same chance that your other men friends have to—to———"
I rather hoped he'd go on, but he didn't. The way he broke off, and clenched his hands, was terribly eloquent, and anybody could see it was the real thing. It was almost in self-defense that I looked at my watch, gave a little scream, and begged him to push Dandy and not delay me another minute.
"All I want to ask you is this," he broke out. "Be sure you go to the ball, and make your father go, too—in the Dauntless, of course—and leave the Lampmans' exactly at two o'clock. Will you do this for me? May I count on it absolutely? The happiness of my whole life depends on it."
He caught my hand and held it so appealingly, so devotedly, that it wasn't in flesh and blood to say No; especially as I was going to the Lampmans' anyway—papa, Dauntless, and all—and the only real favor was the two-
59
