"So?"
"Yes; mother and I will leave for California day after to-morrow, for the winter."
"That will be fine!"
"Will I be missed?"
He shrank from this personal talk. He remembered painfully their last meeting. He was acutely conscious of how it had ended, and knew that the incident of his abrupt departure must have set her wondering.
"Yes," he answered, meeting her answer truthfully, "I shall miss you. I like you."
Such a thing from him was indeed a jolt, and Gail stooped to pick up a wisp of hay to cover her confusion.
"But I'm sorry," he said, "I must be going."
She looked up in surprise. The horse buyer still talked and the discussion bade fair to go on for a long time.
"You're not starting?" she asked.