simply terrible! It has no relation to anything else in the whole design—it stands out like a sore thumb—and the colour is atrocious…. No, Joel, the whole thing is out of key, it upsets the whole design, it has no place there.”
“And what about the background?” he whispered. “What did you think of that?”
“I think that’s bad, too,” she replied without a moment’s hesitation. “You’ve used far, far too much gold—almost twice as much as you did in the other two—the proportion is very bad.”
“Hm,” he muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Yes,” he whispered, “I see what you mean…. I hadn’t thought about the pavilion being out of key—perhaps you’re right…. But,” he whispered, smiling his radiantly gentle and good-natured smile, “I don’t agree with you about the background being bad, nor that I have used too much gold on it. But I will argue with you about that.”
“All right,” she answered crisply and good-naturedly. “I’ll come over tomorrow and we’ll have it out…. But,” she shook her head, and spoke with a crisp but obstinate conviction, “Joel, I know I’m right!… That whole screen is out of proportion. It won’t do…. You’ll have to do the whole thing over again.”
They debated in this fashion of art-talk for some time, and presently the young men rose to go. As they departed, Miss Telfair returned to her former tone of crisp and casual friendliness, saying:
“What is Ida doing tonight? Is she going to the Pastons’for the fireworks?”
“Yes,” Joel whispered. “We’re all going; can’t you come along?”
“No, thank you,” she said, smiling. “Not this time. They’re very lovely—and very awe-inspiring—and all that—but about once every five years is my limit. I would not get into that mob tonight, as hot as it is, for a million dollars…. Tell Ida I expect her here for lunch tomorrow: Irene will be here…. And now, good-bye,” she said, turning to the other young man, and giving him a bright china smile, a swift cool pressure of her little china hand…. “Come up again to see us, won’t you?… And bring your play along. And try going to bed some night at ten o’clock…. Really!” she said with a crisp cool irony, “—you miss very little by doing so.”
As they walked away along the road towards Joel’s house, Joel whispered with his radiant and admiring astonishment:
“She’s simp-ly incredible!… Don’t you think so?… She knows everything,”
