His question, however, was not altogether idle. He wondered
whether Mills had gone out and come back, or if he had not left at
all.
"No. He turned back at the last minute, for some reason. He's camping
in one of the old T. & T. shacks below Carr's. I rather like Mills.
He's interesting when you can get him to loosen up. Queer, tense sort
of beggar at times, though. A good man to go into the hills with--to
go anywhere with--although he might not show to great advantage in a
drawing-room. By Jove, you know, Hollister, it doesn't seem like nine
months since I settled down in this cabin. Now I'm about due to go
back to the treadmill."
"Do you have to?" Hollister asked. "If this satisfies you, why not
come back again after you've had a fling at the outside?"
"I can't, very well," Lawanne for the first time touched on his
personal affairs, that life which he led somewhere beyond the Toba. "I
have obligations to fulfill. I've been playing truant, after a
fashion. I've stolen a year to do something I wanted to do. Now it's
done and I'm not even sure it's well done--but whether it's well done
or not, it's finished, and I have to go back and get into the collar
and make money to supply other people's needs.
Pages:
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363