"Old Donald came to see me," he apologized. "Joanne——"
"You mustn't, John!" she expostulated in a whisper. "My face is afire now! You mustn't kiss me again—until after supper——"
"Only once," he pleaded.
"If you will promise—just once——"
A moment later she gasped:
"Five times! John Aldous, I will never believe you again as long as I live!"
They went down to the Blacktons, and Peggy and Paul, who were busy over some growing geraniums in the dining-room window, faced about with a forced and incongruous appearance of total oblivion to everything that had happened. It lasted less than ten seconds. Joanne's lips quivered. Aldous saw the two little dimples at the corners of her mouth fighting to keep themselves out of sight—and then he looked at Peggy. Blackton could stand it no longer, and grinned broadly.
"For goodness sake go to it, Peggy!" he laughed. "If you don't you'll explode!"
The next moment Peggy and Joanne were in each other's arms, and the two men were shaking hands.
"We know just how you feel," Blackton tried to explain. "We felt just like you do, only we had to face twenty people instead of two. And you're not hungry. I'll wager that. I'll bet you don't feel like swallowing a mouthful. It had that peculiar effect on us, didn't it, Peggy?"