Peters began for the first time to
entertain serious doubts of the girl's mental balance. The most
elementary acquaintance with the latest census was enough to tell him
that there were any number of men at Ealing West. The place was full of
them. Would a sane woman have made an assertion to the contrary? He
thought not, and he was glad that he had the revolver with him. She had
done nothing as yet actively violent, but it was nice to feel prepared.
He took it out and laid it nonchalantly in his lap.
The sight of the weapon acted on Billie electrically. She flung out her
hands, in a gesture of passionate appeal, and played her last card.
"I love _you_!" she cried. She wished she could have remembered
his first name. It would have rounded off the sentence neatly. In such
a moment she could hardly call him 'Mr. Peters.' "You are the only man
I love."
"My gracious goodness!" ejaculated Mr. Peters, and nearly fell over
backwards. To a naturally shy man this sudden and wholly unexpected
declaration was disconcerting: and the clerk was, moreover, engaged.
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