"It makes me very happy to know you are, Josie," he murmured miserably.
And to himself, while still she trembled in his embrace: "What a cur
you are!... But I won't renege now; I'll play my hand out on the
square, with her...."
Upon this tableau there came a sudden intrusion. The back door opened
and Graham came in, Kellogg at his heels. It was the voice of the
latter that told the two they were discovered: a hearty "Hello! What's
this?" that rang in Nat's ears like the trump of doom.
In a flash the girl disengaged herself, and they were a yard apart by
the time that Graham, blundering in his surprise, managed to turn on
the lights at the switchboard. But even in the full glare of them he
seemed unable to credit his sight.
"Why, Nat!" he quavered, coming out toward the guilty pair. "Why,
Nat...!"
Duncan took a long breath and Josie's hand at one and the same time.
"Mr. Graham," he said coolly, "I'm glad you're the first to know it.
Josie has just ask--agreed to be my wife."
Old Sam recovered sufficiently to take the girl's hand and pat it. "I'm
mighty glad, my dear," he told her. "I congratulate you both with all
my heart."
"And so will I, when I have the right," Kellogg added, smiling.
"Oh, I forgot." Nat hastened to remedy his oversight. "Josie, this is
my dearest friend, Mr. Kellogg; Harry, this is Miss Lockwood."
Josie gave Kellogg her hand. "I--I," she giggled--"I'm pleased to meet
you, I'm sure."
"I'm charmed. I've heard a great deal of you, Miss Lockwood, from Nat's
letters, and I shall hope to know you much better before
long."
"It's awful' nice of you to say so, Mr. Kellogg."
"And, Nat, old man!" Kellogg threw an arm round Duncan's shoulder. "I
congratulate you! You're a lucky dog!"
"I'm a dog, all right," said Nat glumly.
"But we mustn't disturb these young people, Mr. Kellogg," Graham broke
in nervously.
"They'll--they'll have a lot to say to one another, I'm sure; so we'll
just run along. I'm taking Mr. Kellogg up to the house, Nat. You'll
follow us as soon as you can, won't you?"
"Yes--sure."
"I've got some news for you, too, that'll make you happy."
"Never mind about that; it'll keep till supper, Mr. Graham." Kellogg
laughed, taking the old man's arm. "Good-bye, both of you--good-bye for
a little while."
"Good-bye..."
"Wasn't that terrible!" Josie turned back to Nat when they were alone.
"I think it was real mean of Mr. Graham to turn on all the lights
that way," she simpered. "Somebody else might've seen."
"Yes," agreed the young man, half distracted; "but of course I daren't
turn them off again."
"Never mind. We can wait." Josie blushed.
"I'll just sit here and wait--we can talk till Tracey comes, and then
you can walk home with me."
"Yes, that'll be nice," he agreed, but without absolute ecstasy.
Fortunately for him, in his temper of that moment, Pete Willing reeled
into the shop, two-thirds drunk, with his face smeared with blood from
a cut on his forehead.
"'Scuse me," he muttered huskily. "Kin I see you a minute, Doc?"
He reeled and almost fell--would have fallen had not Duncan caught his
arm and guided him to a chair. "Great Scott, Pete!" he cried. "What's
happened to you?"
"M' wife..." Pete explained thickly.