They all laughed, which broke the tension of the situation.
"I don't know what you must think of us," said Banborough.
"I thought I was being run away with at first," she said; "but when I heard Alvy's voice on the box I knew it must be all right."
"Of course," continued Cecil, "we hadn't the least idea there was anybody else in the van."
"Oh, I didn't mind so much," she said. "He was quite nice and respectful, and very soft to fall on. I guess he must be all black and blue from the number of times I hit him."
"Well, you're safe, and that's the main thing," said Spotts.
"But what does it all mean?" she demanded.
"Oh, there's time enough for explanations later on," returned the actor. "We're not out of the woods yet."
"Of course we aren't, stupid! Any one can see that."
"Metaphorically, he means," said Cecil. "But, joking apart, this Black Maria is, so to speak particeps criminis, and the sooner we lose it the better."