Три товарища

           Shelaughed."Andwethoughtaboutsixtyorseventy."

           "Well,yousee,"saidI,"youcouldn’tknow,couldyou?"

           "No,"shereplied,"wecertainlycouldn’t.WethoughttheBuickwastwiceasfastasyourcar."

           "Thatmaybe."Ikickedasideabrokentwigwithmyfoot.

           "Butwehadtoobiganadvantage.IdaresayHerrBindingoverthereisprettyannoyedwithus."Shelaughedagain."Ohyes,foramomentcertainly.Butonehastobeabletoloseonceinawhile."

           "True."

           Therefollowedapause.IglancedacrossatLenz.Butthelastoftheromanticsmerelygrinned,twitchedhisnose,andleftmetowallow.

           Thebirchtreesrustled.Acockcrowedatthebackofthehouse.

           "Marvellousweather,"saidIatlasttobreakthesilence.

           "Yes,splendid,"repliedthegirl.

           "Andsomild,"Lenzadded.

           "Quiteunusuallymild,"Isupplemented.

           Therefollowedafreshpause.Thegirlmusttakeusforanicepairofmuttons;butwiththebestwillintheworldnothingmoreoccurredtometosay.Lenzwassniffingtheair.

           "Applesauce,"saidhefeelingly."There’sgoingtobeapplesaucewiththeliver,apparently.Atastydish."