Page:The Whisper on the Stair by Lyon Mearson (1924).djvu/160

 nitely removed from this matter one way or another, I don’t mind telling you that I am going to join Miss Pomeroy.”

“Join Miss Pomeroy?” queried Val. “Why, isn’t Miss Pomeroy in the city at present⸺”

“That’s as may be,” said Teck. “At any rate, I’m going to join Miss Pomeroy, who, I may say, is await¬ ing me impatiently. I don’t suppose it will interest you to know that we intend to marry this week—perhaps tomorrow, if possible⸺”

“Iggy, why try those clumsy lies on me?” protested Val. “It happens that I saw Miss Pomeroy last night, as undoubtedly you are aware, and she said nothing that would lead me to believe⸺”

“There’s nothing surprising about that, my good man,” said Teck patiently. “You see, she didn’t know it herself at the time. In fact, she doesn’t know it yet; but it’s going to happen just the same.”

“Marry you!” ejaculated Val, looking at him inter¬ estedly.

“Yes, me!” said Teck heatedly, his greenish eyes showing the first trace of anger they had shown during the conversation. “Why not?”

‘Well, if you don’t know why not, Iggy, I guess there’s no use arguing with you. All I have to say is that you’ll marry Miss Pomeroy about the same time the Kaiser takes Chicago—or perhaps a trifle later than that.”

“That remains to be seen,” retorted Teck, angrily. “Not that you’ll be here to see it, either.”

“There’s one thing that puzzles me, Iggy,” said Val. “It’s about those books. What is there about them that makes it so important for you to get posses⸺”