“Here he is.”
Fort stood at the end of the perambulator, and looked at that other fellow's baby. In the shade of the hood, with the frilly clothes, it seemed to him lying with its head downhill. It had scratched its snub nose and bumpy forehead, and it stared up at its mother with blue eyes, which seemed to have no underlids so fat were its cheeks.
“I wonder what they think about,” he said.
Noel put her finger into the baby's fist.
“They only think when they want some thing.”
“That's a deep saying: but his eyes are awfully interested in you.”
Noel smiled; and very slowly the baby's curly mouth unclosed, and discovered his toothlessness.
“He's a darling,” she said in a whisper.
'And so are you,' he thought, 'if only I dared say it!'
“Daddy is here,” she said suddenly, without looking up. “He's sailing for Egypt the day after to-morrow. He doesn't like you.”