Читать книгу Hard-Pan. A Story of Bonanza Fortunes онлайн

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“I came to see my brother,” said the older man, rather stiffly, for though he knew Tod to be good-natured and harmless, he did not like him.

“What a pity!” said Letitia. “Maud and Mortimer are both out. They’re lunching at the Murrays’. But they’ll be back soon now. Won’t you sit here with us?”

Though Tod’s annoyance at this proposition did not find vent in words, it was plain to be seen in the dejected and sullen expression that settled on his face. With his hands in his pockets, he stood looking down on his feet in pointed patent-leather shoes, balancing absently on his toes and heels.

“No, thanks,” said Gault, whose dislike of the young man did not go far enough to blight his afternoon. “I’ll go into the library. I’ve got some letters to read over and answer, and I’ll do it now, while I am waiting.”

He turned away and passed through the wide hall-space to the library, a room at the back of the house, where two large windows commanded a view of the Golden Gate and the bay. He had picked up a magazine from a table in the hall, and now, seating himself, prepared to look at it. But he presently threw it aside, and abandoned himself to a dreamy survey of the view.