Ralph Henry Barbour

“ Fascination? Why, man alive, life’s been a hundred times better worth living ever since! We thought every time she dug her nose under, she’d forget to bring it up again; but she always did, God bless her!”
Alfred stirred uneasily where, with Roger’s gown about him, he sat on the edge of the couch.
“Under bare poles we were,” continued Roger, “rushing like the devil for Larchmont Harbor—as we thought. And then, first thing we knew, there was a flash of lightning, and Corbin shouted: ‘Breakers, man, breakers! ”

“ Duty at last drove Roger from bed, and he stumbled across the floor and stood with his bare feet in miniature puddles while he pulled the windows partly down. After that, having fully awakened, he lay for some time listening to the fury of the tempest and thinking of his neighbor at the Hall. He wondered whether she was alarmed; most women, he knew, were mortally afraid of thunder and lightning. He remembered that as a boy he had stubbornly glued his face to the windows during thunderstorms until forcibly torn away by his mother or nurse ”

“ He arose late, and after breakfast excused himself from work to await the morning mail and newspapers. Twice he donned a raincoat and walked hopelessly down the dripping Beech Walk to gaze disconsolately through the gate and up the deserted stretch beyond. Try as he might, work was beyond him. ”