Alpha Book

Bewildered, he stared
round-eyed at the excited young matron who was growing more incensed and
more careless of what she exposed every second:
"I will not make a public gambling-hell out of my own house!" she
repeated, dark eyes very bright and cheeks afire; "I will not continue
to stand sponsor for a lot of queer people simply because they don't
care what they lose in Mrs. Ruthven's house! You babble to me of limits,
Gerald; this is the limit! Do you--or does anybody else suppose that I
don't know what is being said about us?--that play is too high in our
house?--that we are not too difficile in our choice of intimates as long
as they can stand the pace!"
"I--I never believed that," insisted the boy, miserable to see the tears
flash in her eyes and her mouth quiver.
"You may as well believe it for it's true!" she said, exasperated.
"T-true!--Mrs. Ruthven!"
"Yes, true, Gerald! I--I don't care whether you know it; I don't care,
as long as you stay away. I'm sick of it all, I tell you.


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