The Blood of the Conquerors

  CHAPTER IX

  He wanted to call on her again, but he felt that he had been insulted andrejected by the Roths, and his pride fought against it. Unable to thinkfor long of anything but Julia he fell into the habit of walking by herhouse at night, looking at its lighted windows and wondering what she wasdoing. Often he could see the moving figures and hear the laughter of somegay group about her, but he could not bring himself to go in and face thechilly disapproval of her family. At such times he felt an utter outcast,and sounded depths of misery he had never known before. For this was hisfirst real love, and he loved in the helpless, desperate way of the Latin,without calculation or humour.

  One evening there was a gathering on the porch of the Roth house. She wasthere, sitting on the steps with three men about her. He could see thewhite blur of her frock and hear her funny little bubbling laugh above thedeeper voices of the men. Having ascertained that neither Gordon Roth norhis mother was there, he summoned his courage and went in. She could notsee who he was until he stood almost over her.

  "O, it's you! I'm awfully glad.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~}" Their hands met and clung for a momentin the darkness. He sat down on the steps at her feet, and theconversation moved on without any assistance from him. He was now just ashappy as he had been miserable a few minutes before.

  Presently two of the other men went away, but the third, who was ConnyMasters, stayed. He talked volubly as ever, telling wonderful andsometimes incredible stories of things he had seen and done in hiswanderings. Ramon said nothing. Julia responded less and less. Once shemoved to drop the wrap from about her shoulders, and the alert Connyhastened to assist her. Ramon watched and envied with a thumping heart ashe saw the gleam of her bare white shoulders, and realized that his rivalmight have touched them.

  Conny went on talking for half an hour with astonishing endurance andresourcefulness, but it became always more apparent that he was notcaptivating his audience. He had to laugh at his own humour and expatiateon his own thrills. Finally a silence fell upon the three, broken only byoccasional commonplace remarks.

  "Well, I guess it's time to drift," Conny observed at last, lookingcautiously at his watch.

  This suggestion was neither seconded by Ramon nor opposed by Julia. Thesilence literally pushed Conny to his feet.

  "Going, Ramon? No? Well, Good night." And he retired whistling in a waywhich showed his irritation more plainly than if he had sworn.

  The two impolite ones sat silent for a long moment. Ramon was trying tothink of what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. Finallywithout looking at her he said in a low husky voice.

  "You know {~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} I love you."

  There was more silence. At last he looked up and met her eyes. They wereserious for the first time in his experience, and so was her usuallymocking little mouth. Her face was transformed and dignified. More thanever she seemed a strange, high being. And yet he knew that now she waswithin his reach.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} That he could kiss her lips {~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} incredible.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} And yet hedid, and the kiss poured flame over them and welded them into each others'arms.

  They heard Gordon Roth in the house coughing, the cough coming closer.

  She pushed him gently away.

  "Go now," she whispered. "I love you {~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} Ramon."