The Splendid Chance Author:Mary Hastings Bradley General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1915 Original Publisher: D. Appleton and Company Subjects: History / General Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial acce... more »ss to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER HI IT had rained at noon but later the sun came out, fugitive, faint-hearted, at first, then suddenly confident and conquering. The sea that had been foam-flecked and fretful became all bloom and glitter. The clouds looked luminous and joyful, sailing very high on their mysterious ways. The exhilaration of the day was dancing in Kather- ine's blood. A smile of prankish daring edged her lips. Very stealthily she tore out a page of her sketchbook, hidden within a larger book as she sat, rug-wrapped, in the chair next Miss Anne's. Very stealthily she opened the fingers that lifted the loose sheet just as a tall figure, hands deep in the ulster pockets, peaked cap low over the eyes, came tramping by on the tenth or twentieth oblivious round. The wind seized on the paper, fluttered it conspicuously, and obligingly flung it across the path of that tall, oncoming figure. And then, like all meddlesome assistants, it overdid matters. With an unnecessary puff it sent the paper twirling over the rail. But the tall young man's hands came out of those deep pockets with amazing quickness. He made a swiftdash to the rail and reached high for that fluttering paper. In triumph his fingers closed on it. Katherine sat up very straight in her chair, her eyes alight with mischief. The young man turned to restore his capture and as he did so very naturally his fingers busied themselves absently smoothing out the creases he had inflicted, and very naturally his eyes rested upon the damage that his grip had wrought. And then he became aware ...« less