"Please. I want to see you home."
"Oh! But I don't want you to," I said hastily. "I'll get the 'bus. It's such a short way. Good-night."
But he wouldn't say "Good-night." He insisted on boarding the 'bus with me, and plumping himself down on the front seat beside me, under the fine drizzle that was still coming down.
Certainly it was only a short 'bus ride to the Strand, but a good deal happened in it. In fact, that happened which is supposed to mark an unforgettable epoch in a girl's life—her first proposal of marriage.
CHAPTER XVIII
MY FIRST PROPOSAL
We were alone on the top of the 'bus.
Mr. Brace turned to me, settling the oil-cloth 'bus apron over my knees as if I were a very small and helpless child that must be taken great care of.