Page:Saxe Holm's Stories, Series Two.djvu/378

368 me than Tom would for Sue. I believe I 'll speak to him."

"Speaking to him" was not so easy. Several well-meant and carefully planned little speeches of Bell's died away on her lips when she found herself face to face with Tom. And time was slipping away. Her own wedding was to come off in a few months, and what could poor Sue do? Mrs. Bell Lawton was much perplexed. At last one day she took a desperate step. Tom had dined with them. After dinner they were all sitting together in the library. Bell rose, looked them both in the face for a moment with a half comic, half severe glance, and said:— "Now, I tell you what it is; it is high time you two decided what you were going to do. Something has got to be done. Now, I 'm going to leave you, and if you don't straighten out things, I won't speak to either of you again," and she marched out of the room.

Tom looked at Susan, who said, nervously.

"Oh, how queer Bell is!"

"She is right," said Tom. And then he looked at Susan, and continued looking at her, and said nothing.

Moments passed.

Susan could not bear the silence another moment.

"Tom!" she cried, "tell me just once, would you really mind very much if I did n't marry you?"