But he left the big stove as it had been; and the rather quaint old
chairs with their rush-bottoms renovated and their lustrous wood
stained and polished by years of use.
Every other day he went to Spring Pond from his office in New York to
watch the progress of the work. The contractor was under penalty;
Clive had not balked at the expense; and the work was put through with
a rush.
In the meanwhile he called on Athalie occasionally, pretending always
whenever she spoke of it, that negotiations were still under way
concerning the property in question, and that such transactions
required patience and time.
One matter, too, was gradually effaced from his mind. The tall man and
the short man who had been following him so persistently had utterly
disappeared. And nobody else seemed to have taken their places.
Eventually he forgot it altogether.
Two months was the period agreed upon for the completion of Athalie's
house and garden, and the first week in July found the work done.
It had promised to be a hot week in the city: Athalie, who had been
nowhere except for an evening at some suburban restaurant, had begun
to feel fagged and listless and in need of a vacation.
And that morning she had decided to go away for a month to some quiet
place in the mountains, and she was already consulting various folders
and advertisements which she had accumulated since early spring, when
the telephone in her bedroom rang.
She had never heard Clive's voice so gay over the wire. She told him
so; and she could hear his quick and rather excited laugh.
"Are you very busy to-day?" he asked.
"No; I'm going to close up shop for a month, Clive. I'm hot and tired
and dying for a glimpse of something green. I was just looking over a
lot of advertisements--cottages and hotels. Come up and help me."
"I want you to spend the day with me in the country. Will you?"
"I'd love to. Where?"
"At Spring Pond."
"Clive! Do you really want to go there?"
"Yes. As your guest."
"What?"
"If you will invite me. Will you?"
"What do you mean? Have you bought the place for me?"
"I have the deed in my pocket, all ready to be transferred to you."
"You darling! Clive, I am so excited--"
"So am I. Shall I come for you in my brand new car? I've invested in
an inexpensive Stinger runabout. May I drive you down? It won't take
much longer than by train. And it will cool us off."