“You speak as if you––”

“As if I knew!” He took the words out of her mouth. “I do.”

“How do you know?”

“I tried it.”

“And then?”

“Kicked out!” he replied with a grimace.

Marion laughed in spite of her burning eagerness to hear more.

“Not exactly kicked,” Smythe explained. “But I’d rather have been. He was as polite as––he’s a gentleman, you see, so he knew how to do it without using his hands or his feet.”

“But why?” insisted Marion.

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