“Hang it, because I love you!”

“Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place? How was I to know unless you told me? But oh, Denny, I want to go home!” She laid her cheek against his hand. “I want a garden with a picket fence round it and all the simple flowers. I never want another adventure in all my days!”

“Same here!”

A stretch of silence.

“What happened to me?”

“Someone hit you with a wine bottle.”

“A vintage—and I never got a swallow!”

“And then your father went to your defense.”

“The old boy? Honestly?” 263

“He stood astride your body until Mr. Cunningham came in and stopped the mêlée.”