United States or Isle of Man ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
I have to work my passage, you see, and Providence, on the eve of sailing, robbed Mrs. Wilhammer of her maid. 'Oh! he murmured in relief. His red-haired muse was going back to her social pedestal. 'But you must have found it humiliating, he said. 'Humiliating? She laughed cheerfully. 'Why more than manicuring her? The muse shivered again on the pedestal. 'Manicuring? he echoed in dismay.
Yes, there she was, gazing pensively forth from the cabin window. He guessed the mistress was out for once presumably at the concert. His heart beat faster as he came to a standstill, yet the reminder that she was a lady's maid brought an involuntary note of condescension into his voice. 'I hope Mrs. Wilhammer hasn't been keeping you too imprisoned? he said. She smiled faintly.
'Ach so! he muttered. Had he perhaps misinterpreted and magnified the attitude of these Americans? Was it possible that Mrs. Wilhammer had really been too ill to see him? She looked frail and feverish behind all her brilliant beauty. Or had she not even seen his letter? had her secretary presumed to guard her from Semitic invaders?
He had seen countless pictures and caricatures of them, for did they not almost hold the globe in their grip? This, then was the notorious multi-millionaire, 'the Napoleon in dollars, as a wit had summed him up; and the first sight of Andrew P. Wilhammer almost consoled the player for his poverty.
Wilhammer disappeared within the relation was obviously intimate but the girl still stood at the door, a brooding magical figure.
Why, this was but a girl nay, unless his instinct was at fault, a Jewish girl a glorious young Jewess, of that radiant red-haired type which the Russian Pale occasionally flowered with. What was she doing with this Christian Colossus? He tried vainly to see her left hand; the mere possibility that she might be Mrs. Wilhammer shocked his Semitic instinct.
Would the maestro honour Mrs. Wilhammer by taking tea in her cabin? He stared dazedly at the girl, who remained respectful and silent. 'Did you not hear what I was playing? he murmured. 'Oh yes a synagogue medley, she replied quietly. 'They publish it on the East Side, nicht wahr? 'East Side? He was outraged.
'Won't you come outside and walk a bit under this beautiful moon? She came out without a word, with the simplicity of a comrade. 'Yes, it is a beautiful night, she said, 'and very soon I shall be in Russia. 'But is Mrs. Wilhammer going to Russia, then? he asked, with a sudden thought, wondering that it had never occurred to him before. 'Of course not! I only joined her for this voyage.
Word Of The Day