“Have good tr—”
“Don’t ask me about it! There was a married man sans wife who persecuted me all the way over. I’m glad you aren’t going to fall in love with me.”
“Why—uh—”
“Let’s hustle over and get through the customs as soon as we can. Where’s N? Oh, how clever of it, it’s right by M. There’s one of my trunks already. How are you, Mouse dear?”
But she didn’t seem really to care so very much, and the old bewilderment she always caused was over him.
“It is good to get back after all, and—Mouse dear, I know you won’t mind finding me a place to live the next few days, will you?” She quite took it for granted. “We’ll find a place this morning, n’est-ce pas? Not too expensive. I’ve got just about enough to get back to California.”
Man fashion, he saw with acute clearness the pile of work on his desk, and, man fashion, responded, “No; be glad tuh.”
“How about the place where you’re living? You spoke about its being so clean and all.”
The thought of Nelly and Istra together frightened him.
“Why, I don’t know as you’d like it so very much.”