"Don't hurt me, Matt," the girl said. She was dry-eyed now, but saddened. "Don't hurt me later."
"I won't hurt you," he said. He wondered at that moment if he would be able to avoid hurting her.
"Are you really alone?"
"Alone?" He did not laugh. "God! I'm the loneliest sonofabitch in the whole world."
The girl smiled again. "I have half a mind to believe you," she said. "Shall we get started back?"
"O.K. It's getting late. Have dinner with me?"
"I don't know, yet. Would you call the hotel and ask if there are any messages for me?"
"There's a phone in the souvenir stand."
The girl bought a batch of picture sets while Hall was on the phone. "Do we eat?" she asked when he came out of the booth.
"No. They want you in the Marti Memorial Lab at the University at seven."