For a while that stiffness which
inevitably introduces a formal gathering of youngsters held them
unnaturally bound. But just as inevitably it wore away, and by the
time the folding chairs were drawn up round the little table where
"hearts" were to be played, voices were babbling, and laughter was
to be heard everywhere for no reason at all.
At Missy's table sat Raymond Bonner, looking handsomer than ever
with his golden hair and his eyes like black velvet pansies. There
was another boy who didn't count; and then there was the most
striking creature Missy had ever seen. She was a city girl visiting
in town, an older, tall, red-haired girl, with languishing, long-
lashed eyes. She wore a red chiffon dress, lower cut than was worn
in Cherryvale, which looked like a picture in a fashion magazine.
But it was not her chic alone that made her so striking. It was her
manner. Missy was, not sure that she knew what "sophisticated"
meant, but she decided that the visiting girl's air of self-
possession, of calm, almost superior assurance, denoted
sophistication. How eloquent was that languid way of using her fan!
In this languishing-eyed presence she herself did not feel at her
best; nor was she made happier by the way Raymond couldn't keep his
eyes off the visitor.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127