"As I say, Em's all right enough. No fault to find with her. But she's
not you. And it's you I wanted. Now, if I take her--"

"You'll enjoy it very much," she weakly asserted. "Ever so much.
Besides, Alf,"--she began to appeal to him, in an attempt to
wheedle--"Em's a real good sort.... You don't know half the things ..."

"I know all about Em. I don't need you to tell me what she is. I can see
for myself." Alf rocked a little with an ominous obstinacy. His eyes
were fixed upon her with an unwinking stare. It was as though, having
delivered a blow with the full weight of party bias, he were desiring
her to take a common-sense view of a vehement political issue.

"What can you see?" With a feeble dash of spirit, Jenny had attempted
tactical flight. The sense of it made her feel as she had done, as a
little girl, in playing touch; when, with a swerve, she had striven to
elude the pursuer. So tense were her nerves on such occasions that she
turned what is called "goosey" with the feel of the evaded fingers.

Alf rolled his head again, slightly losing his temper at the
inconvenient question, which, if he had tried to answer it, might have
diverted him from the stern chase upon which he was engaged. The sense
of that made him doubly resolved upon sticking to the point.

"Oh, never you mind," he said, stubbornly. "Quite enough of that. Now
the question is--and it's a fair one,--why did you shove Em on to me!"

"I didn't! You did it yourself!"