He dug his hand into his trousers pocket and produced a ring containing a solitaire diamond as big as a hazelnut.
"I took a chance on the size already," he said, "but I bet yer it will fit like it was tailor-made."
He seized her left hand in both of his and passed the ring on to the third finger, while Birdie's cheeks were aglow and her eyes rivalled the brilliancy of the ring itself.
"But——" she began.
"But nothing," Philip interrupted. He rose from his seat and helped Birdie on with her coat. "Waiter," he called, "we come right back here. We are just going over to Jersey for a couple of hours."
He pressed a bill into the waiter's hand.
"Send that soup to the kitchen," he said, "and tell 'em to serve it hot when we come back."
Two hours later they reappeared at the same table, and the grinning waiter immediately went off to the kitchen. When he returned he bore a glass bowl containing a napkin elaborately folded in the shape of a flower, and inside the napkin was a little heap of rice.