The Dugdale Millions — page 138: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

128 THE DUGDALE MILLIONS, Dick obeyed, and joined her on the lawn. ‘‘What have you been doing to Bessie?’’ she asked imperiously. ‘It would be better if you were to ask what Bessie has done to me,’’ he replied. ‘Well, what has she done?’ ‘She has rejected me, More than that, she has made me feel the sting of hercontempt. Shehas shown me how wide is the gulf between her father’s clerk and her father’s daughter.” aWhen?’ “This afternoon.’ ‘You think she has rejected you?”’ ‘“‘Think!’’ There was a world of sarcasm in his manner of repeating the word. “T never saw such idiotic children,’’ exclaimed Wallis, with a gesture of impatience. ‘‘I am thor- oughly disgusted.”’ She threw off her hat, and sat herself down on the gnarled root of an old tree which protruded above the turf, and clasping her hands over one knee rocked her- self gently to and fro, her brow gathered in wrinkles. Dick, standing in front of her, thought she was very pretty as she sat there vexing herself with his troubles. ‘To whom are you alluding?’’ he asked at length. ‘To you and Bessie, of course,’’ she answered with much asperity. ‘‘I never saw such idiots. You would go wrong, both of you, if there were a hundred ways to go right, and only one to go wrong.”’ Dick was silent, wondering what she meant, a slight hope springing up within him. She continued rock- ing herself to and fro. ‘‘T don’t know what is to be done,’’ she said after a while. ‘“‘If it were anyone else in the world I’d know what to do. But both of you are so stupid, you rush into a quarrel as soon as you're let loose. Such geese! Geese! <A goose is a miracle of wisdom and penetration compared to you.”’ , Comicboclk C@ 3