The Plastic Age, Percy Marks [the top 100 crime novels of all time .txt] 📗

Chapter 17 Pg 122

Prom Came Early In May,  And Hugh Looked Forward To It Joyously,  Partly

Because It Would Be His First Prom And Partly Because Cynthia Was

Coming. Cynthia! He Thought Of Her Constantly,  Dreamed Of Her,  Wrote

Poems About Her And To Her. At Times His Longing For Her Swelled Into An

Ecstasy Of Desire That Racked And Tore Him. He Was Lost In Love,  His

Moods Sweeping Him From Lyric Happiness To Black Despair. He Wrote To

Her Several Times A Week,  And Between Letters He Took Long Walks

Composing Dithyrambic Epistles That Fortunately Were Never Written.

 

When He Received Her Letter Saying That She Would Come To Prom,  He

Yelled Like A Lunatic,  Pounded The Astonished Vinton On The Back,  And

Raced Down-Stairs To The Living-Room.

 

Chapter 17 Pg 123

"She'S Coming!" He Shouted.

 

There Were Several Men In The Room,  And They All Turned And Looked At

Him,  Some Of Them Grinning Broadly.

 

"What Th' Hell,  Hugh?" Leonard Gates Asked Amiably. "Who'S Coming? Who'S

She?"

 

Hugh Blushed And Shuffled His Feet. He Knew That He Had Laid Himself

Open To A "Royal Razzing," But He Proceeded To Bluff Himself Out Of The

Dilemma.

 

"She? Oh,  Yes,  She. Well,  She Is She. Altogether Divine,  Len." He Was

Trying Hard To Be Casual And Flippant,  But His Eyes Were Dancing And His

Lips Trembled With Smiles.

 

Gates Grinned At Him. "A Poor Bluff,  Old Man--A Darn Poor Bluff. You'Re

In Love,  _Pauvre Enfant_,  And I'M Afraid That You'Re In a Very Bad Way.

Come On,  Tell Us The Lady'S Name,  Her Pedigree,  And List Of Charms."

 

Hugh Grinned Back At Gates. "Chase Yourself," He Said Gaily. "I Won'T

Tell You A Blamed Thing About Her."

 

"You'D Better," Said Jim Saunders From The Depths Of A Leather Chair.

"Is She The Jane Whose Picture Adorns Your Desk?"

 

"Yeah," Hugh Admitted. "How Do You Like Her?"

 

"Very Fair,  Very Fair." Saunders Was Magnificently Lofty. "I'Ve Seen

Better,  Of Course,  But I'Ve Seen Worse,  Too. Not Bad--Um,  Not Very Bad."

 

The "Razzing" Had Started,  And Hugh Lost His Nerve.

 

"Jim,  You Can Go To Hell," He Said Definitely,  Prepared To Rush

Up-Stairs Before Saunders Could Reply. "You Don'T Know A Queen When You

See One. Why,  Cynthia--"

 

"Cynthia!" Four Of The Boys Shouted. "So Her Name'S Cynthia. That'S--"

 

But Hugh Was Half-Way Up-Stairs,  Embarrassed And Delighted.

 

The Girls Arrived On Thursday,  The Train Which Brought Most Of Them

Reaching Haydensville Early In The Afternoon. Hugh Paced Up And Down The

Station,  Trying To Keep Up A Pretense Of A Conversation With Two Or

Three Others. He Gave The Wrong Reply Twice And Then Decided To Say

Nothing More. He Listened With His Whole Body For The First Whistle Of

The Train,  And So Great Was The Chatter Of The Hundreds Of Waiting

Youths That He Never Heard It. Suddenly The Engine Rounded A Curve,  And

A Minute Later The Train Stopped Before The Station. Immediately The

Boys Began To Mill Around The Platform Like Cattle About To Stampede,

Standing On Their Toes To Look Over The Heads Of Their Comrades,

Shoving,  Shouting,  Dancing In Their Impatience.

 

Girls Began To Descend The Steps Of The Cars. The Stampede Broke. A

Youth Would See "His Girl" And Start Through The Crowd For Her. Dozens

Spotted Their Girls At The Same Time And Tried To Run Through The Crowd.

They Bumped Into One Another,  Laughed Joyously,  Bumped Into Somebody

Chapter 17 Pg 124

Else,  And Finally Reached The Girl.

 

When Hugh Eventually Saw Cynthia Standing On A Car Platform Near Him,  He

Shouted To Her And Held His Hand High In Greeting. She Saw Him And Waved

Back,  At The Same Time Starting Down The Steps.

 

She Had A Little Scarlet Hat Pulled Down Over Her Curly Brown Hair,  And

She Wore A Simple Blue Traveling-Suit That Set Off Her Slender Figure

Perfectly. Her Eyes Seemed Bigger And Browner Than Ever,  Her Nose More

Impudently Tilted,  Her Mouth More Supremely Irresistible. Her Cheeks

Were Daintily Rouged,  Her Eyebrows Plucked Into A Thin Arch. She Was New

York From Her Small Pumps To The Expensively Simple Scarlet Hat.

 

Hugh Dashed Several People Aside And Grabbed Her Hand,  Squeezing It

Unmercifully.

 

"Oh,  Gee,  Cynthia,  I'M Glad To See You. I Thought The Darn Train Was

Never Going To Get Here. How Are You? Gee,  You'Re Looking Great,

Wonderful. Where'S Your Suit-Case?" He Fairly Stuttered In His

Excitement,  His Words Toppling Over Each Other.

 

"I'M Full Of Pep. You Look Wonderful. There'S My Suit-Case,  The Big

Black One. Give The Porter Two Bits Or Something. I Haven'T Any Change."

Hugh Tipped The Porter,  Picked Up The Suit-Case With One Hand,  And Took

Cynthia By The Arm With The Other,  Carefully Piloting Her Through The

Noisy,  Surging Crowd Of Boys And Girls,  All Of Them Talking At Top Speed

And In High,  Excited Voices.

 

Once Hugh And Cynthia Were Off The Platform They Could Talk Without

Shouting.

 

"We'Ve Got To Walk Up The Hill," Hugh Explained Miserably. "I Couldn'T

Get A Car For Love Nor Money. I'M Awfully Sorry."

 

Cynthia Did A Dance-Step And Petted His Arm Happily. "What Do I Care?

I'M So--So Damn Glad To See You,  Hugh. You Look Nicer'N Ever--Just As

Clean And Washed And Sweet. Ooooh,  Look At Him Blush! Stop It Or I'Ll

Have To Kiss You Right Here. Stop It,  I Say."

 

But Hugh Went Right On Blushing. "Go Ahead," He Said Bravely. "I Wish

You Would."

 

Cynthia Laughed. "Like Fun You Do. You'D Die Of Embarrassment. But Your

Mouth Is An Awful Temptation. You Have The Sweetest Mouth,  Hugh. It'S So

Damn Kissable."

 

She Continued To Banter Him Until They Reached The Fraternity House.

"Where Do I Live?" She Demanded. "In Your Room,  I Hope."

 

"Yep. I'M Staying Down In Keller Hall With Norry Parker. His Room-Mate'S

Sick In The Hospital; So He'S Got Room For Me. Norry'S Going To See You

Later."

 

"Right-O. What Do We Do When I Get Six Pounds Of Dirt Washed Off And

Some Powder On My Nose?"

 

"Well,  We'Re Having A Tea-Dance Here At The House At Four-Thirty; But

Chapter 17 Pg 125

We'Ve Got An Hour Till Then,  And I Thought We'D Take A Walk. I Want To

Show You The College."

 

After Cynthia Had Repaired The Damages Of Travel And Had Been Introduced

To Hugh'S Fraternity Brothers And Their Girls,  She And Hugh Departed

For A Tour Of The Campus. The Lawns Were So Green That The Grass Seemed

To Be Bursting With Color; The Elms Waved Tiny New Leaves In a Faint

Breeze; The Walls Of The Buildings Were Speckled With Green Patches Of

Ivy. Cynthia Was Properly Awed By The Chapel And Enthusiastic Over The

Other Buildings. She Assured Hugh That Sanford Men Looked Awfully Smooth

In Their Knickers And White Flannels; In Fact,  She Said The Whole

College Seemed Jake To Her.

 

They Wandered Past The Lake And Into The Woods As If By Common Consent.

Once They Were Out Of Sight Of Passers-By,  Hugh Paused And Turned To

Cynthia. Without A Word She Stepped Into His Arms And Lifted Her Face To

His,  Hugh'S Heart Seemed To Stop; He Was So Hungry For That Kiss,  He Had

Waited So Long For It.

 

When He Finally Took His Lips From Hers,  Cynthia Whispered Softly,

"You'Re Such A Good Egg,  Hugh Honey,  Such A Damn Good Egg."

 

Hugh Could Say Nothing; He Just Held Her Close,  His Mind Swimming

Dizzily,  His Whole Being Atingle. For A Long Time He Held Her,  Kissing

Her,  Now Tenderly,  Now Almost Brutally,  Lost In a Thrill Of Passion.

 

Finally She Whispered Faintly: "No More,  Hugh. Not Now,  Dear."

 

Hugh Released Her Reluctantly. "I Love You So Damned Hard,  Cynthia," He

Said Huskily. "I--I Can'T Keep My Hands Off Of You."

 

"I Know," She Replied. "But We'Ve Got To Go Back. Wait A Minute,

Though. I Must Look Like The Devil." She Straightened Her Hat,  Powdered

Her Nose,  And Then Tucked Her Arm In His.

 

After The Tea-Dance And Dinner,  Hugh Left Her To Dress For The Dramatic

Society Musical Comedy That Was To Be Performed That Evening. He

Returned To Norry Parker'S Room And Prepared To Put On His Tuxedo.

 

"You Look As If Somebody Had Left You A Million Dollars," Norry Said To

Hugh. "I Don'T Think I Ever Saw Anybody Look So Happy. You--You Shine."

 

Hugh Laughed. "I Am Happy,  Norry,  Happy As Hell. I'M So Happy I Ache.

Oh,  God,  Cynthia'S Wonderful. I'M Crazy About Her,  Norry--Plumb Crazy."

 

Norry Had Known Cynthia For Years,  And Despite His Ingenuousness,  He Had

Noticed Some Of Her Characteristics.

 

"I Never Expected You To Fall In Love With Cynthia,  Hugh," He Said In

His Gentle Way. "I'M Awfully Surprised."

 

Hugh Was Humming A Strain From "Say It With Music" While He Undressed.

He Pulled Off His Trousers And Then Turned To Norry,  Who Was Sitting On

The Bed. "What Did You Say? You Said Something,  Didn'T You?"

 

Chapter 17 Pg 126

Norry Smiled. For Some Quite Inexplicable Reason,  He Suddenly Felt

Older Than Hugh.

 

"Yes,  I Said Something. I Said That I Never Expected