doubts of her competence to do anything she set out to do. [60] [60] They stood under the wall very near together. "What are you going to do?" she said. "I must get a car and take you away. Are you afraid to be left alone for a couple of hours?" "I—I don't think so," she said. "But where? Did you notice the lights as you got over the wall?" "Yes; they were still near the house." The two were walking side by side along the road now. "If you were any ordinary girl I should be afraid to leave you to think things over—for fear you should think you'd been rash or silly or something—and worry yourself about all sorts of nonsense, and perhaps end in bolting back to your hutch before I could come back to you. But since it's you—let's cut across the downs here—we'll keep close to the edge of the wood." Their feet now trod the soft grass. "How sensible of you to wear a dark cloak," he said. "Yes," she said, "a really romantic young lady in distress would have come in white muslin and blue ribbons, wouldn't she?" He glowed to the courage that let her jest at such a moment. "Where am I to wait?" she asked. "There's an old farm-house not far away," he[61] said. "If you don't mind waiting there. Could you?" [61] "Who lives there?" "Nobody. I happen to have the key. I was looking at it yesterday. It's not furnished, but I noticed some straw and packing-cases. I could rig you up some sort of lounge, but don't do it if you're afraid. If you're afraid to be left to yourself we'll walk together to Eastbourne. But if we do we're much more likely to be caught."
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