U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [458]
"By gum," said Tad when they got off the train into the sunshine of the station, "we'l buy us an engagement ring anyway."
First thing on the way to a hotel in a taxi they went to a jeweler's and Tad bought her a solitaire diamond set in platinum and paid for it with a check. "My, his old man must be some mil ionaire," whispered Queenie into Margo's ear in a voice like in church. After they'd been to the jeweler's the boys drove the girls to the Mayflower Hotel. They got a room there and went upstairs to fix up a little. The girls washed their underclothes and took hot baths and laid out their dresses on the beds. "If you want my opinion," Queenie was say-ing while she was helping Margo wash her hair, "those two livewires are gettin'
cold feet. . . . Al my life I've wanted to go on a yachtin' trip an' now we're not gettin' to go any more than a rabbit. . . . Oh, Margo, I hope it wasn't me gummed the game."
"Tad'l do anything I say," said Margo crossly.
"You wait and see," said Queenie. "But here we are squabblin' when we ought to be enjoyin' ourselves. . . . Isn't this the swel est room in the swel est hotel in Jack-sonvil e, Florida?" Margo couldn't help laughing. "Wel , whose fault is it?" "That's right," said Queenie, flouncing out of the shampoosteaming bathroom where they were washing their hair, and slamming the door on Margo.
"Have the last word."
At one o'clock the boys came by for them, and made
them get al packed up and check out of the hotel. They went down to the dock in a Lincoln car Tad had hired.
-269-It was a beautiful sunny day. The Antoinette was anchored out in the St. Johns River, so they had to go out in a little speedboat.
The sailor was a goodlooking young fel ow al in white; he touched his cap and held out his arm to help the girls in. When Margo put her hand in his arm to step into the boat she felt the hard muscles under the white duck sleeve and noticed how the sun shone on the felt the hard muscles under the white duck sleeve and noticed how the sun shone on the golden hairs on his brown hand. Sitting on the darkblue soft cushion she looked up at Tad handing the bags down to the sailor. Tad looked pale from being sick and had that funny simple broadfaced look, but he was a husky wel built boy too. Suddenly she wanted to hug him.
Tad steered and the speedboat went through the water so fast it took the girls' breath away and they were scared for fear the spray would spoil the new sportsdresses they were wearing for the first time. "Oh, what a beauty," they both sighed when they saw the Antoinette so big and white with a mahogany deckhouse and a broad yel ow chimney. "Oh, I didn't know it was a steamyacht," crooned Queenie. "Why, my lands, you could cross the ocean in it."
"It's a diesel," said Tad. "Aren't we al ?" said Margo. Tad was going so fast they crashed right in the little mahogany stairway they had for getting on the boat, and for a second it cracked and creaked like it would break right off, but the sailors managed to hold on somehow.
"Hold her, Newt," cried young Rogers, giggling.
"Damn," said Tad and he looked very sore as they went on board. The girls were glad to get up onto the beautiful yacht and out of the tippy little speedboat where they were afraid of getting their dresses splashed.
The yacht had goodlooking officers in white uniforms and a table was al ready for lunch out under an awning on deck and a Filipino butler was standing beside it with a tray of cocktails and al kinds of little sandwiches cut into fancy shapes. They settled down to lunch in a hurry,
-270-because the boys said they were starved. They had broiled Florida lobster in a pink sauce and cold chicken and salad and they drank champagne. Margo had never been so
happy in her life.
While they were eating the yacht started to move slowly down the river, away from the ramshackle wharves and the dirtylooking old steamboats into the broad reaches of brown river that was splotched with green floating patches of waterhyacinths.