"Aching incisors!" ejaculated the dentist, grimly watching them forge ahead. "Where did I get the foolish idea that I was her escort? Who is that flower, anyhow?"
"An employee in our store."
"Oh!" said Paul. "Clerk?"
"No; a floor-walker."
"Oh!" he said again, with a change of intonation which Jean detected. "In her department?"
"No; in mine."
"Oh!"
Amy's laugh came back shrilly through the now sparsely frequented street.
"I shouldn't have ordered so much beer," admitted the man. "It was too heavy for her, even if her stepfather—but let's cut that out!"
Jean herself thought that this passage from the Jeffries family history might better be left undiscussed. She quickened their pace till they were close upon Amy's too buoyant heels, and so continued to their door.