For a little time she did not reply.
"Why I—went off with Garret Amherst, you mean?" she said low.
"Good Lord, no!" he exclaimed. "That is your own affair. I meant why you came to this place of all others in town, this afternoon."
"A fit of bravado," she answered. "I had already done so much that a trifle more didn't matter. Moreover, I was curious to see what"—she made a slight motion of her hand toward the crowd on the piazza—"they would do. I saw!" she added with a bit of a laugh.
"Was it wise to try them all together?" he asked. "Wouldn't it have been better to let them make up their minds gradually rather than to force them to a decision in a moment?"
"Of course—I know it, but I've been so much a fool lately that I'm reckless—I reckon it is in the blood. My father lost his life climbing mountains, you know. Mine takes a different form, that's all—I run to the unconventional. Run is a good word, isn't it?" she smiled.
"Yes—particularly the run back," said Pendleton.
"You think so?" she demanded.
"I'm sure of it, Stephanie—perfectly sure of it."
"What did I run back to?" she asked.