Page:Fighting Back (1924).pdf/87



Kid Roberts blew in about nine o'clock that night with his jaw set hard and his hat pulled down, till it almost covered his flashin', steel-gray eyes. He slammed the door after him so hard that two pictures, the phone book, and a clock fell off the wall with a crash!

"What's the big idea, Kid?" I says in surprise. "Didn't you see Dolores?"

He swung around on me like a flash. "Under the circumstances, Joe, your curiosity is pardonable," he tells me. "But in the future the subject of Dolores is taboo—let that be understood!"

"O. K.," I says. "And now that we got that all settled, did you see her?"

Kid Roberts glares at me for a minute and then he surrenders, "Yes—I saw Dolores," he says, curlin' his lip. "For various reasons, I didn't inform Dolores of my intended visit, and when I arrived at her father's house I found she was engaged with—eh—with another caller. I wouldn't permit the butler to announce me, as I intended to give Dolores what I hoped would be a pleasant surprise. Well, she accompanied her departing visitor to the reception hall, and there I confronted them. Instead of appearing glad to see me, Dolores was frankly embarrassed—yes, by Heaven, disconcerted at seeing me there! Recovering herself she intraduced her visitor. Joe, who do you think it was?"