“Where to?” he asked. Then he remembered: “Why, you haven’t given me your address.”
“To Springfield. Here, I’ll scribble out the address while you get the change. You’d better write your first letter to the theatre in care of Fluffy. I’ll send you the names of the other towns later.”
At the barrier they met with an unexpected setback; the gateman refused to let him see her off. “Not allowed. You ought to have a pass.”
It seemed hopeless. The man looked too righteous for bribery and too inhuman for argument. Desire leant forward: “Oh, please, won’t you let my brother——?”
Slowly and knowingly the man smiled. He glanced from the anxious little face, doing its best to appear tearful, to the no less anxious face of Teddy. He scented romance and signed to them to go forward. So Teddy had proof that others could become weak when she employed her powers of fascination.
He followed her into the train and sat down at her side.
“I wish I were coming.”
She gazed out of the window. He bent across to see her face.
“Why, Desire, you’re——”
“I’m silly,” she said quickly. “Parting with anybody makes me cry. Oh, dear, I wish I wasn’t going.”