"Don't worry, Madeline," he said. "Things are going to look up. And please don't cry," he pleaded earnestly.
She wiped away the tears and summoned a wan little smile to meet his.
"I won't," she said. "Crying is silly and won't help anything. It is just that I was awfully tired and your being so good to me upset me. You've always been good even—when I thought you weren't. I understand better now. And oh, Ted, you don't know how ashamed I am of the way I behaved that night! It was awful—my striking you like that. It made me sick to think of it afterward."
"It needn't have. If anybody has any call to be ashamed of that night it's yours truly. See here, Madeline, I've worried a lot about you though maybe you won't believe it because I didn't write or act as if I were sorry about things. I kept still because it seemed the straightest thing to do all round, but I did think a great deal about you, honest I did, and I've wondered millions of times if my darn-foolness set things going wrong for you. Did it, Madeline?" he demanded.
"No," she answered her gaze away from his out the cab window. "You mustn't worry, Ted, or blame yourself. It—it's all my fault—everything."
"It's good of you to let me out but I am not so sure I ought to be let out. I'd give a good deal this minute if I could go back and not take Uncle Phil's car that night." Ted leaned forward suddenly and for a startled instant Madeline thought he meant to kiss her. But nothing was farther from his wish or thought. It was the scar he was looking for. He had almost forgotten it, just as he had almost forgotten the episode it represented. But there it was on her forehead. Even in the gathering darkness it showed with perfect distinctness. "I hoped it had gone," he added. "But it is still there, isn't it?"
"The scar? Yes, it is still there." For a moment the ghost of a smile played about the girl's lips. "I've always liked it. I'd miss it if it went."
"Well, I don't like it. I hate it," groaned the boy. "Why, Madeline I might have killed you!"
"I know. Sometimes I wish it had come out so. It—it would have been better."
"Don't Madeline. That is an awful thing to say. Things can't be as bad as all that, you know they can't. By the way, can you tell me the whole business or would you rather not?"