“As you please,” said Hubert carelessly.
The girl hesitated.
“I—I’m afraid I can’t give you back your ring, because I’ve lost it.”
“What?”
“Lost it,” said Julia coolly. “You know. Like ‘mislaid’—only worse. I
know I had it this morning when we started out: but it was a bit big, if
you remember, and it must have slipped off.”
Challenger swallowed violently.
“When did you miss it?” he demanded.
“About two minutes ago—when you first went off the deep end. I started
to take it off then, only it wasn’t there. I’ve been wondering what to
do ever since. You see, it’s never happened to me before, and for the
moment I was rather nonplussed. Then it occurred to me that, after all,
a ring’s only a symbol, and its giving or restoration purely a matter of
form—so why worry? As soon as I find it, I’ll send it you.”
“I see,” said Hubert drily. “Well, I’m afraid I don’t quite agree. For
one thing, this happened to be rather a good, er, symbol. For another, I
might very well need it to offer to somebody else. For another, you’re
only human.”
“What do you mean?”
Challenger rose.
“I mean that if the search for a symbol which is no longer symbolic, the
discovery of which will only benefit a man you dislike, is to be
seriously prosecuted, some incentive is necessary. Pending, therefore,
its return, I shall not regard our engagement, however inconvenient, as
broken off.”
Miss Willow yawned.
“I’m not concerned with how you regard it,” she said.
“I’m sure of that,” said Hubert suavely. “But I think other people’s
views might interest you. Should anybody seem to think that we are no
longer engaged, I shall explain the position.”
Speechless with indignation, Julia regarded him.