Mr. Richards: “No.” He rises and goes out at the rear door, comes back, and sits down again.
Miss Galbraith, rises, and goes to the large mirror to wipe away her tears. She glances at Mr. Richards, who does not move. She sits down in a seat nearer him than the chair she has left. After some faint murmurs and hesitations, she asks, “Will you please tell me why you went out just now?”
Mr. Richards, with indifference: “Yes. I went to see if the rear signal was out.”
Miss Galbraith, after another hesitation: “Why?”
Mr. Richards: “Because, if it wasn’t out, some train might run into us from that direction.”
Miss Galbraith, tremulously: “Oh! And was it?”
Mr. Richards, dryly: “Yes.”
Miss Galbraith returns to her former place, with a wounded air, and for a moment neither speaks. Finally she asks very meekly, “And there’s no danger from the front?”
Mr. Richards, coldly: “No.”
Miss Galbraith, after some little noises and movements meant to catch Mr. Richards’s attention: “Of course, I never meant to imply that you were intentionally careless or forgetful.”