She said, seeing his troubled expression: "I'm sorry I spoke that way."

"I knew how you must feel, anyway."

"It seems ungrateful," she murmured. "I love my step-father."

"You've proven that," he remarked with a dry humour that brought the hot flush to her face again.

"I must have been crazy that day," she said. "It scares me to remember what I tried to do. … What a frightful thing — if I had killed you — How can you forgive me?"

"How can you forgive me, Eve?"

She turned her head: "I do."

"Entirely?"

"Yes."

He said, — a slight emotion noticeable in his voice: "Well, I forgave you before the darned gun exploded in our hands."