"I quite agree with you, a maladroit mastiff with teeth!"
Mastiff! That insult again! I did not reproffer my arm. We strode forward once more, she with her face turned sideways remote from me, I with my face sideways remote from her, and the plaid trailing from my hand by way of showing her she could have it if she wished. We must have paced along in this amiable, post-matrimonial fashion for quite a quarter of the mile we had to go, and I was awkwardly conscious of suppressed laughing from her side. It was the rippling voice, that always seemed to me like fountain splash in the sunshine, which broke silence again.
"Really," said the low, thrilling, musical witchery by my side, "really, it's the most wonderful story I have ever heard!"
"Story?" I queried, stopping stock still and gaping at her.
"Perfectly wonderful! So intensely interesting and delightful."
"Interesting and delightful?" I interrogated in sheer amazement. This girl utterly dumfounded me, and in the conceit of youth I thought it strange that any girl could dumfound me.
"What an interesting life you have had, to be sure!"
"I have had?"
"Yes, don't you know you've been talking in torrents for the past ten minutes? No? Do you forget?" and she laughed tremulously either from embarrassment, or cold.
"Well!" said I, befooled into good-humor and laughing back. "If you give me a day's warning, I'll try to keep up with you."