"Huh!" ejaculated Phil inelegantly, utterly taken by surprise by
Carlotta's announcement. "Do you mind repeating that? The altitude seems
to have affected my hearing."

"You heard correctly. I said I brought you up here to propose to me."

Phil shrugged.

"Too much 'As You Like It,'" he observed. "These Shakespearean heroines
are a bad lot. May I ask just why you want me to propose to you, my dear?
Do you have to collect a certain number of scalps by this particular rare
day in June? Or is it that you think you would enjoy the exquisite
pleasure of seeing me writhe and wriggle when you refuse me?"

Phil's tone was carefully light, and he smiled as he asked the questions,
but there was a tight drawn line about his mouth even as he smiled.

"Through bush, through briar,
Through flood, through fire"

he had followed the will o' the wisp, Carlotta, for two years now,
against his better judgment and to the undoing of his peace of mind and
heart. And play days were over for Phil Lambert. The work-a-day world
awaited him, a world where there would be neither space nor time for
chasing phantoms, however lovely and alluring.

"Don't be horrid, Phil. I'm not like that. You know I'm not," denied
Carlotta reproachfully. "I have a surprise for you, Philip, my dear. I am
going to accept you."