The comedian of the Dixie Ramblers arrived with two chorus girls.
He was a little man, with the face of a weasel and no upper teeth.
He wore a straw hat with a striped band, and a blue shirt and collar.
The boarders gathered in around him.
In a moment there was shrill laughter.
Julius Arthur sped swiftly down the hill, driving his father home.
He grinned squintily and flung his arm up in careless greeting.
The prosperous lawyer twisted a plump Van Dyked face on a wry neck curiously.
Unsmiling, he passed.
A negress in the Brunswick struck on the several bells of a Japanese gong.
There was a scramble of feet on the porch; the croquet players dropped their mallets and walked rapidly toward the house.
Pratt wound his hose over a wooden reel.
A slow bell-clapper in the Belton sent the guests in a scrambling drive for the doors.
In a moment there was a clatter of heavy plates and a loud foody noise.
The guests on the porch at Dixieland rocked more rapidly, with low mutters of discontent.
Eugene talked to Laura in thickening dusk, sheeting his pain in pride and indifference.
Eliza’s face, a white blur in the dark, came up behind the screen.
“Come on out, Mrs. Gant, and get a breath of fresh air,” said Laura James.
“Why no-o, child.
I can’t now.
Who’s that with you?” she cried, obviously flustered. She opened the door.
“Huh?
Heh?
Have you seen ‘Gene?
Is it ‘Gene?”
“Yes,” he said.
“What’s the matter?”
“Come here a minute, boy,” she said.
He went into the hall.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Why, son, what in the world!
I don’t know.
You’ll have to do something,” she whispered, twisting her hands together.
“What is it, mama?
What are you talking about?” he cried irritably.
“Why — Jannadeau’s just called up.
Your papa’s on a rampage again and he’s coming this way.
Child!
There’s no telling what he’ll do.
I’ve all these people in the house.
He’ll ruin us.”
She wept.
“Go and try to stop him.
Head him off if you can.
Take him to Woodson Street.”
He got his hat quickly and ran through the door.
“Where are you going?” asked Laura James.
“Are you going off without supper?”
“I’ve got to go to town,” he said.
“I won’t be long.