"There you see, you cannot find a word to say, not even the most common-place excuse."
Shaking her head so that her hair came down and fell over the young man's shoulder and against his face, she went on talking, laughing all the time, and still leaning against him for support.
"I don't mind, though, at all, for whether you want to or not now, you will have to come with us to the theatre; you cannot refuse."
"But—"
"Oh, there is no but about it. I will have that now for the payment of our bet."
"Our bet?"
"Well, did we not make a bet? I, that there would be an accident, because there always are accidents, you know; and you, that there would not be one at all."
"Yes, but—"
"Well, it seems to me that this is one. Don't you consider it enough—my accident? Well, I wonder what more you want?"
"Yes, it's true," he managed to stammer out. "What an idiot I am! the fact is, I was so frightened—if you only knew."