"Charles R Tanner - The Improbable" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tanner Charles R)

THE IMPROBABLE
by Charles R. Tanner

(Author of "Out of the Jar," "Tumithak in Shawm," etc.)
It was all utterly impossible. Therefore as Professor Hoopdeowdow Gallows
explained, it just had to happen!



BOB DECKER WAS PROPOSING to Dorothy Gallon. It was not the first time that he
had proposed to Dorothy. To be exact, it was the eleventh.
He was using the cool, calm, reasoning method. The first five times Bob had
proposed, he hadn't used any "method" at all. Then, seeing that he was getting
nowhere, he decided to put a little psychology into his attempts, and so his
sixth proposal had been the romantic, passionate, moving-picture type. That
hadn't worked so well, so number seven was the "cave-man" type. That was a
fiasco.
Then in quick succession had come the careless, man-about-town style, the
love-me-or-I-die type and the warning type. And now--this.
But Dorothy remained firm in her resistance. It was almost as if she really
didn't want to marry Bob Decker. But the cold, calm, reasoning method demanded
persistence, and so Bob Decker was persisting.
"You know, Dorothy," he was saying. "There's more to life than just romance. We
must think of the future, of the days that lie ahead. Just think how convenient
it would be, if we were married. Already I'm your father's assistant, and I
could come and live at your house and work in the lab-- And you could keep on
being your father's housekeeper, just like you are now--"
Dorothy interrupted him.
"Bob Decker, this is the most miserable proposal you've ever made. As if I'd
keep on living with father after I'm married. He doesn't need me and you know
it. With all his money, he could hire a whole house full of housekeepers. And as
far as convenience for you is concerned--Well, it just goes to show how much
romance there is in your make-up. You never think of poor little me. All you
think of is how nice it would be for you.
"But I think of love and marriage in a lot different way than you do. I want a
bold, strong, masterful man. I want a hero. Someone who can pick me up and carry
me off over the hill to the land of dreams where a castle and servants await
me--And I just can't imagine you even picking me up." She glanced at Bob's
slight form in a sort of contempt.
"No, Bob," she went on, a softer tone creeping into her voice. "I like you well
enough, but I couldn't see you as a husband. As far as I'm concerned, you're
still just the little man who works for father."
As they were speaking, they had been walking along the street on the way from a
movie-house, and now they had reached Dorothy's home. Bob was expected to
supper, and he had a strong suspicion that Professor Gallon was going to ask him
to do a little overtime work in the lab. It was customary. Professor Gallon
never hesitated to ask Bob to work overtime when he needed him, and Bob, who
nursed his job because of Dorothy, seldom refused to work, when asked.
Sure enough, after supper, the crusty old professor's mouth cracked into an
experimental smile as he suggested that Bob and he repair to the laboratory.