But it was done; I knew her, and liked her
tremendously. She was the only one who was decent to me--who tried to
keep me from acting like a fool about cards--"
_Did_ she try?"
"Yes--indeed, yes! . . . and, Phil--she--I don't know how to say it--but
she--when she spoke of--of you--begged me to try to be like you. . . .
And it is a lie what people say about her!--what gossip says. I know; I
have known her so well--and--I was like other men--charmed and
fascinated by her; but the women of that set are a pack of cats, and the
men--well, none of them ever ventured to say anything to me! . . . And
that is all, Philip. I was horribly in debt to Neergard; then Ruthven
turned on me--and on her; and I borrowed more from Neergard and went to
her bank and deposited it to the credit of her account--but she doesn't
know it was from me--she supposes Jack Ruthven did it out of ordinary
decency, for she said so to me. And that is how matters stand; Neergard
is ugly, and grows more threatening about those loans--and I haven't any
money, and Mrs.
Pages:
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553