seemed to feel as though he had made some risque and inexcusable
blunder, became immediately formal and left her at the first
opportunity.

She was rather glad when Roger Patton cut in on her and suggested
that they sit out a while.

"Well," he inquired, blinking cheerily, "how's Carmen from the
South?"

"Mighty fine. How's--how's Dangerous Dan McGrew? Sorry, but he's
the only Northerner I know much about."

He seemed to enjoy that.

"Of course," he confessed, "as a professor of literature I'm not
supposed to have read Dangerous Dan McGrew."

"Are you a native?"

"No, I'm a Philadelphian. Imported from Harvard to teach French.
But I've been here ten years."

"Nine years, three hundred an' sixty-four days longer than me."

"Like it here?"

"Uh-huh. Sure do!"

"Really?"