She made an effort to sustain the note of pleasantry.
"Well—it might, for instance, determine my future conduct. You see I'm still a nurse, and such problems are always likely to present themselves."
"Ah, then don't!"
"Don't?"
"I mean—" He hesitated a moment, reaching up to break a rose from the branch that tapped his shoulder. "I was only thinking what risks we run when we scramble into the chariot of the gods and try to do the driving. Be passive—be passive, and you'll be happier!"
"Oh, as to that—!" She swept it aside with one of her airy motions. "But Dillon, for instance—would he have been happier if I'd been passive?"
Amherst seemed to ponder. "There again—how can one tell?"
"And the risk's not worth taking?"
"No!"
She paused, and they looked at each other again. "Do you mean that seriously, I wonder? Do you——"