"Would you let me come with you?"
"No."
"Would you, if it were possible, take Julia?"
"No."
"Might both of us come with you together?"
"No." And, raising his voice, "No, I tell you, no!" he said.
We had stopped by a rather shabby-looking thicket of rugosa roses near the diving-stage. The pink-flowered hedge hid us from the house. I spoke quietly, not to give my own agitation too much head.
"Derry," I said, "you remember what you showed me with that flashlight that night in your rooms?"
With marked reluctance he answered, "Yes I do."
"I've been thinking about that. I've been thinking a lot about it. Of course it makes a considerable difference how far away you hold the lamp."