“Fairly bobbish, thank you,” he answered, looking at her with stupendous gravity.
“You look all right, you know.”
“You should never judge by appearances,” said White, with a fatherly severity.
Marguerite pursed up her lips, and looked his stalwart frame up and down in silence. Then she suddenly lapsed into her most confidential manner, like a schoolgirl telling her bosom friend, for the moment, all the truth and more than the truth.
“You are surprised to see me here; thought you would be, you know. I knew you were in the hotel; saw your boots outside your door last night; knew they must be yours. You went to bed very early.”
“I have two pairs of boots,” replied the major, darkly.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I have brought papa across. Tony wrote for him to come, and I knew papa would be no use by himself, so I came. I told you long ago that the Malgamite scheme was up a gum-tree, and that seems to be precisely where you are.”
“Precisely.”
“And so I have come over, and papa and I are going to put things straight.”
“I shouldn't if I were you.”