U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [474]
. . I won't," Margo sobbed. "Oh, no, I wouldn't like that. . . . But I'l go down now. . . . I feel real y rested for the first time in months," said Agnes. When Margo was alone she stopped bawling at once.
"Why, I'm as bad as Agnes," she muttered to herself as she got to her feet. She turned on the water for a bath. It was late by the time she'd gotten into an afternoondress and come downstairs. The judge looked pretty glum. He sat puffing at the butt of a cigar and sipping at a cocktail while Agnes talked to him about Faith.
He perked up when he saw Margo coming down the
stairs. She put some dancemusic on the phonograph.
"When I'm in your house I'm like that famed Grecian sage in the house of the sirens . . . I forget hometies, engagements, everything," said the judge, coming toward her onestepping. They danced. Agnes went upstairs again. Margo could see that the judge was just on the edge of making a pass at her. She was wondering what to do about it when Cliff Wegman was suddenly ushered into the room. The judge gave the young man a scared suspicious look. Margo could see he thought he was going to be framed.
"Why, Mr. Wegman, I didn't know you were in
Miami." She took the needle off the record and stopped the phonograph. " JudgeCassidy, meet Mr. Wegman."
"Glad to meet you, judge. Mr. Anderson used to talk about you. I was his personal secretary." Cliff looked hag-gard and nervous. "I just pul ed into this little old town," he said. "I hope I'm not intruding." He grinned at Margo.
-387-"Wel , I'm woiking for the Charles Anderson estate now."
"Poor fel ow," said Judge Cassidy, getting to his feet.
"I had the honor of bein' quite a friend of Lieutenant Anderson's. . . ." Shaking his head he walked across the soft plumcolored carpet to Margo. "Wel , ma dear young lady, you must excuse me. But duty cal s. This was indeed delightful." Margo went out with him to his car. The rosy evening was fading into dusk. A mockingbird was singing in a peppertree beside the house. "When can I bring the jewelry?" Margo said, leaning towards the judge over the front seat of the car. "Perhaps you better come to my office tomorrow noon. We'l go over to the bank together. Of course the appraisal wil have to be at the expense of the borrower.""O.K. and by that time I hope you'l have thought of some way I can turn it over quick. What's the use of having a boom if you don't take advan-tage of it?" The judge leaned over to kiss her. His wet lips brushed against her ear as she pul ed her head away. "Be yourself, judge," she said. In the livingroom Cliff was striding up and down fit to be tied. He stopped in his tracks and came towards her with his fists clenched as if he were going to hit her. He was chewing gum; the thin jaw moving from side to side gave him a face like a sheep. "Wel , the boss soitenly done right by little Orphan Annie."
"Wel , if that's al you came down here to tel me you can just get on the train and go back home."
"Look here, Margo, I've come on business."
"On business?" Margo let herself drop into a pink over-stuffed chair. "Sit down, Cliff . . . but you didn't need to come barging in here like a process server. Is it about Charley's estate?"
"Estate hel . . . I want you to marry me. The pickin's are slim right now but I've got a big career ahead." Margo let out a shriek and let her head drop on the back of the chair. She got to laughing and couldn't stop laugh--388-ing. "No, honestly, Cliff," she spluttered. "But I don't want to marry anybody just now. . . . Why, Cliff, you sweet kid. I could kiss you." He came over and tried to hug her. She got to her feet and pushed him away. "I'm not going to let things like that interfere with my career either."
Cliff frowned. "I won't marry an actress. . . . You'd have to can that stuff." Margo got to laughing again. "Not even a moving-picture actress?"
"Aw, hel , al you do is kid and I'm nuts about you." He sat down on the davenport and wrung his head between his hands. She moved over and sat down beside him. "For-get it, Cliff." Cliff jumped up again. "I can tel you one thing, you won't get anywheres fooling around with that old buzzard Cassidy. He's a married man and so crooked he has to go through a door edgeways. He gypped hel out of the boss in that airport deal. Hel . . . . That's probably no news to you. You probably were in on it and got your cut first thing. . . . And then you think it's a whale of a joke when a guy comes al the way down to the jumpingoff place to offer you the protection of his name. Al right, I'm through. Good . . . night." He went out slamming the glass doors into the hal so hard that a pane of glass broke and tinkled down to the floor.