"You will be glad to get back, won't you. Daddy?" I asked him. "It will
be so nice for you to go to the club again, and see all your old
friends."
He looked at me, and only nodded in a noncommittal way.
"I will leave you now," I said. "There is a lot of packing to do, and
that poor silly Susie is perfectly useless, since she heard we were
going. She is sitting on a stool in the kitchen and weeping herself into
a fit. Her nose is the reddest thing you ever saw. But you and I are old
travelers, aren't we, and used to quick changes? You remember, in Europe,
how we used to get to little towns and decide in a moment whether we
would stay or not, when we were tired of all those old museums and
cathedrals?"
But Daddy only patted my hand, and I have decided that he is a
wonderfully clever man. I am sure he understood that I was just forcing
myself to talk, and that he could say nothing that would make me feel
better.
Then there was a knock at the door, and Stefansson came in with one of
his long faces.
"Good evening," said Daddy. "Have a cigar? The box is there on the table.
I have good news for you, since I know you don't enjoy this place much.
Too far from Long Island Sound, isn't it? I want to sail to-morrow
morning."
Our skipper's long Swedish face lengthened out a bit more, and he looked
a very picture of distress.
"But you told me yesterday that you were going to stay at least another
week, Mr.
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