‘I gathered as much,’ said Dr. Hurst. ‘You mustn’t excite her any more, you know, or I won’t answer for the consequences. What was it all about, eh?’
He was evidently making a gigantic effort to be amiable, and Christopher felt he owed him something in return. Besides, it was a kind of relief to put the blame on himself.
‘I said you were a rotter, and she said you weren’t,’ he jerked out; ‘and I said you were only decent to her because she was an interesting case, and she said––’
‘All right,’ said the Doctor, hastily. He supposed truthfulness was an excellent thing in theory, but it added another terror to boys.
As they neared the village Christopher summoned up courage to ask one more question.
‘Did you come out on purpose to bring me back?’ he inquired with an effort.
‘Yes,’ said Dr. Hurst, briefly.
Christopher puzzled over this. ‘But–but how did you know I’d gone after you?’ he asked curiously.
‘Jill told me you’d disappeared, and I guessed,’ said Dr. Hurst. If it had not been so dark, Kit might have seen a smile flicker across the serious face of his companion.
‘Did Jill think about me, then?’ cried the boy, eagerly. ‘Perhaps she isn’t so wild with me after all!’