"There again you have an instance, of what I mean ... you are only
rhetoricising about love; not partaking of its feelings."
"But I wrote all these poems about a real girl," and I told them the
story of my distant passion for Vanna.
"No matter--you're a grown-up man who, as far as knowledge of women is
concerned, has the heart of a baby," observed Hildreth.
--"in these days of sex-sophistication a fine thing!" cried Ruth.
"Yes, when out of the mouths of babes and sucklings come quotations from
Havelock Ellis and Ellen Key!" cried Darrie.
"Good! Darrie, good!" Hildreth applauded....
"--time to go to bed ... here it's almost one o'clock."
"--had no idea it was so late. I have a lot of typing to do to-morrow.
Good night, folks!" and Ruth was off to her room upstairs.
"Good-night, Hildreth,--suppose you're going to sleep down in the little
house!" It was Darrie who spoke.
"Yes," answered Hildreth, in a simple tone, "I will feel quite safe
there ... Johnnie's tent is only a few yards away."
Hildreth and Darrie kissed each other on the mouth tenderly.
"Good night, Johnnie--" and impulsively Darrie stepped up to me, took me
by the two shoulders, and kissed me also a kind sisterly kiss.... I
responded, abashed and awkward.
A ripple of pleasant laughter at me from both women.
"Johnnie's a dear, innocent boy!" Darrie.
"He makes me feel like a mother to him!" said Hildreth.
Though each of these remarks was made without the slightest colour of
irony, I did not like them ... I lowered my head, humiliated under them.
Ever since I had been among them the three women had treated me in the
way they act with small boys, preserving scarcely any reserve in my
presence. Penton himself had lost all his first disquiet.