"N—Mr. Fairfax! You didn't."
"Miss Magda Royston—pardon me! I did."
"But I do assure you—"
"I sent you a lengthy and most interesting composition, full of sympathy for your bereft condition. And that was the end. I had no reply. So I came to the conclusion that you had found another Ned, and wanted no more of me."
"But indeed, indeed, I wrote last. I wrote sheets; and you never answered them. So I was dreadfully miserable, and I knew you were tired of me, and delighted to get away. And so—"
"So it meant a long gap. But old friends can always begin again, just where they left off."
"It's very nice," murmured Magda. Then she wondered what her mother and Pen would say if she kept N—Mr. Fairfax all to herself out here. "I think I ought to take you indoors," she remarked. "Wouldn't you like to see the others?"
"I'm glad to see everybody. You asked a question just now."
"Yes. I thought you didn't mean to answer it."
"Why should I not? My mother has made a home for me in town, and I have a post in a bank."