171“Poor boy! And you must work doubly hard when we first get back. To begin with, you will have to eat your half of all the eggs that have been laid.”
“Not an egg! I swear it!”
“Let’s see–four days. That will make about thirty-six eggs. You must eat eighteen this afternoon.”
Their heads were of necessity very close together, and as Pats with a frown turned his face to look at her, she continued: “And to-morrow being your birthday, you shall have a double allowance. Just think of being thirty-one years old! Why, Patsy, it take one’s breath away.”
“Yes, it is a stupendous thought.”
“How does it feel?”
“Well, I can still see and hear a little; and I am holding on to my teeth. Of course, the lungs, liver, brain, and all the more perishable organs have long since gone.”
“Naturally.”
“But the heart is still there, and thumping hard and strong for the finest woman in the world.”
“Well, the heart is everything, and you are a good boy–I mean a good old man.”