“Aha, so another woman has come into your life!” McCall grinned and lit a fresh cigarette.
“Woman?”
“Certainly! She’s given you this little jar—set you thinking.”
“I didn’t say it was a woman.”
“But you didn’t say it wasn’t. Which amounts to the same thing. If it had been a man you would have said Major Jinks, or Dr. Levin, or Peter Smith or whoever it was. You wouldn’t say ‘some one’ all the time.”
“You are right,” said Hamilton, at length. “Let’s open a door and get some of this smoke out before we turn in. Miss Meadows has set me thinking. But you know what I think—”
“No.”
“I’m going down to Corinth first thing and get married.”
“Well, I’m not surprised. You’ve been engaged long enough. Ever since we were at Camp Mills. Best of luck, old man.”
Hamilton was disappointed. He had thought that the announcement would surprise McCall. It had surprised himself. He had suddenly expressed his intention aloud. Was it to commit himself to making a decision? He was in love with Margaret. He wished to be united with her irrevocably. He wished that there be no doubt in his mind about it. There really was no reason, after all, why McCall should be surprised. He had expected it right along. Hamilton wondered why he should wish to pledge himself to marry Margaret, and why he should take this means of proclaiming his intention. He wondered whether McCall would think it odd, or whether he thought about it at all.