“No, not a bit.”
“But you stayed till morning.”
“I stopped and took a swim.”
“You enjoyed that, I suppose?”
His daughter glanced at him and turned crimson; but she did not have to answer, for at that moment Tomes came, in response to her ring, and she said:
“We won’t wait lunch for Mr. Verriman, Tomes.” Then, as he went away, she asked, “And what was Eddie doing here this morning, anyhow?”
“He was scolding me,” replied Mr. Cord. “Have you noticed, Crystal, what a lot of scolding is going on in the world at present? I believe that that is why no one is getting any work done—everyone is so busy scolding everybody else. The politicians are scolding, and the newspapers are scolding, and most of the fellows I know are scolding. I believe I’ve got hold of a great truth—”
“And may I ask what Eddie was scolding about?” asked Crystal, no more interested in great truths than most of us.
“About you.”
Crystal moved her head about as if things had now reached a point where it wasn’t even worth while to be angry. “About me?”