Danbury Rodd, Aviator (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: HI HER COMPELLING EYES " T 'D give my eyes to be in Cleveland before the JL Continent Limited!" It was then 5.15. The Continent Limited had left New York at 4.40?and they were wonderful eyes. Their appeal thrilled Danbury Rodd like a call for help from over the waters. He was not seeking adventure. Why should he when his occupation made adventure reek of the shop ? Rather, he had promised himself the novelty of an evening of relaxation in the commonplace. Indifferently watching the people passing in and out of the main door of the Great Century Hotel, and the cross currents of humanity on the avenue, while he waited for a friend with whom he was to have an early dinner, there was no reason why he should particularly observe a young man who arrived in a two-seated runabout. Such young men are frequent at the Great Century. If this one enjoyed any distinction from type it was in seeming to be over well pleased with himself. After sending up his card he took a seat near Rodd. He had not long to wait. Rodd saw him rise buoyantly with a smile of greeting, only to stop abruptly, as if struck by a chilling draught which had issued from the elevator door at the same time as the person whom he was expecting. By raising his brows Rodd now witnessed a bit out of a third act of a drama of suppressed emotion, with the second principal a young woman. She came swiftly, the sweep of some resolution driving her steps. She was high-strung, exquisite, with a slight figure, he noticed instantly. But this became an irrelevant detail after he had seen her eyes. These were gloriously burning with some message she had to deliver. The young man was evidently to be its recipient. She halted before him with a militant and impetuous finality, which crumpled him in discomfiture. "I ought...