"To be continued in our next," he said.
"Aw, Mister! Aw, Mister!" they protested, clinging to his coat.
"After lunch," he promised, freeing himself, and hastening down the saloon after Corinna.
He thought he had her cornered in the bow, but she dropped into a seat beside a woman with a sick baby and enquired how it was getting on. The two women embarked on what promised to be an endless discussion of the infant's symptoms. Evan felt decidedly foolish, but stubbornly stood his ground.
Denton unexpectedly came to his assistance. "Miss Playfair," he said, "I've got a seat for you in the dining-room, and one for Mr. Weir. Won't you come down now?"
Two seats! Together, naturally. Evan's heart went up with a bound. But Corinna was not going to be led into any such trap. She asked the woman beside her if she had had her lunch. The answer was a shake of the head.
"Then I'll hold the baby, and you go with these gentlemen," said Corinna blandly.
"Let me hold the baby," said Evan.
"Oh, thank you, sir; but he don't like men."
Evan went down with Denton and the woman, but he did not mean to be put off so easily. Seeing the crowd in the dining-saloon, he said: