"All I know about it is that you came back here last night with a farthest north story and no fish. You're an explorer, all right."
"Look here, Curtis! Don't you believe I saw her?"
"Sure. When I fall asleep I sometimes see the same kind—all winners, too."
"I was not asleep!"
"You said yourself that you were dead tired of waiting for a trout to become peevish and bite."
"I was. But I didn't fall asleep. I did see that girl. I watched her for several minutes. . . . Breakfast's ready."
Langdon looked mournfully at the flapjacks. He picked up one which was only half scorched, buttered it, poured himself a cup of sickly coffee, and began to eat with an effort.
"You say," he began, "that you first noticed her when you were talking out loud to yourself to keep yourself awake?"
"While waiting for a trout to bite," said Sayre, swallowing a lump of food violently. "I was amusing myself by repeating aloud my poem, Amourette:
"Where is the girl of yesterday?