gone. Her life seemed to stretch before her in a long, dreary
waste. His arguments were unanswerable. Physical weariness,
combined with the despair which till then she had refused to
acknowledge, overwhelmed her. She was down.

He put his hand upon her. "Come, I say! Is it a bargain? I swear
I won't bully you. I'm awfully fond of you, Cherry-ripe."

She raised herself slowly. It was her last effort. "One thing
first," she said, and put his hand away from her. "I must--cable
to Guy, and get an answer."

"Oh, rot!" he said. "What for?"

"Because I haven't heard from him lately, and I must know--I must
know"--she spoke with rising agitation--"the reason why. He might
be--I don't say it is likely, but he might be--on his way home to
me. I can't--I can't give him up without knowing."

Preston grimaced wryly, but he was shrewd enough to grasp and hold
such advantage as was his. "Well, failing him, you'll have me,
what? That's a promise, is it?"

She looked at him again. "If you want me under those conditions."

He put his arms about her. "Of course I want you, Cherry-ripe!
We'd be awfully happy together, you and I. I'll soon make you
forget him, if that's all. You can't be very deeply in love with
the fellow after all this time. I don't suppose he's in the least
the sort of person you take him for. You're wastin' your time over