"Fourteen," she replied.
"I'm sixteen ... nearly!" he continued.
"Ninian's over sixteen," Mary said, and added, "I wish I were sixteen!"
"Why!"
"Oh, I don't know. I just wish I were. When I'm sixteen, you'll be eighteen ... nearly!"
"So I shall. I say, Mary!..."
"Yes, Quinny?"
He could hear the rattle of the train on the railway lines, and, turning towards the other end of the platform, he saw that Ninian, having settled about the luggage and finished listening to the story of the fox hunt, was approaching them. "Come on," he said, catching hold of Mary's arm and drawing her to the other end of the platform.
"But that's the wrong end," she protested.
"I say, Mary!..."