“If that’s how you feel about this one, best let her alone,” said Aleck Gault, slowly.
“Oh, shucks,” said Steve. “Anyway, I’ll try what it’s like to be friendly without making love.”
“Seems to me I’ve heard of something about Platonic friendship before, and the way it ends,” said Aleck, grinning at him.
“It won’t be any Platonic friendship basis then. Tell you what, I’ll start off by warning her that I’m an unmitigated blackguard, and that I have an infallible weakness for falling in love with every pretty girl I meet. And if I show any signs of the disease with her, will she please kindly bump me over the head with a half brick and chase me off the scenery. How’ll that do?”
“You might try it,” said Aleck Gault, reflectively. “Will you let me come along and rub in the warning of your character?”
“Surely,” assented Steve; “and we’ll refer her to Scottie, and each individual of the crowd for confirmation.”
“I think it’s likely you’ll be late at that,” said Aleck, drily. “She’ll have had it already.”
And in view of what he had just said, it was unreasonable of Steve Knight to feel annoyed because it might be so.