‘Old Freddie, the International Bum! Remember that time we met the tea planter at the Shanghai Club bar and went up the Wing Wang Wong in a catamaran — now what the deuce IS a catamaran, I wonder?’

Hazel was at home. Before he could attack, she kissed him, unexcitedly, and said, ‘Howard has been trying to get you on the phone. I couldn’t quite make out what he wanted: something about Sara telephoning from New York, about how you met a Dr. Janissary and liked him so much, and Sara thinks we ought to get this doctor to come to Sachem and look you over some more. Is anything the matter with you?’

‘Not any more! Not ever again! Hazel, I don’t want to take a lot of time explaining, but Sara is bound and determined to keep me from retiring, or even taking a year’s layoff.’

‘But how could she keep you?’

‘I don’t know. But she’s a smart girl and awfully determined — and if you don’t believe it, look at this doggone inhuman furniture that somehow, I swear I don’t know how, she wished on to me. Hazel, I’m leaving for Europe . . .’

‘EUROPE?’

‘ . . . to-night, and I want . . .’

‘TO-NIGHT?’

‘ . . . you to go with me. I won’t stop to explain why I want to get out and get out quick. Let’s say it’s just for the fun of it. That’s really the best reason, anyway, I’m GOING. To-night. Are you with me or against me?’

‘Why . . .’

‘Are you?’

‘Why, yes, of course, though . . . I’d love to go to Europe with you. I think it would be lovely. But start to-night? It’s crazy.’

‘Certainly. So am I. At least, I’m doggone serious, and seems that’s the same as being insane. Coming?’

‘You’re joking. We’d have to have two weeks, at the very least, to get ready.’

‘What ready?’

‘Clothes.’

‘You’d be surprised, but they sell clothes in Europe, too. And I’ll bet anything, maybe you could buy toothbrushes there.’

‘But why . . .’

‘Because Howard and Sara will gang up on me, on us, and if they get us to delay our leaving — call it our sneaking off like cowards, if you want to — we never will make a break. They’ll put up such an argument about my having to stay here and get them started standing on their own feet — keep on for the next twenty years getting ’em started. Oh, Sara wouldn’t ever let us go.’

‘Don’t be silly! How could she prevent it?’

‘Oh, maybe she couldn’t absolutely prevent it, if we kicked and screamed, but I’ll tell you what she doggone well could do: she’d sneer so and jeer so that she’d spoil the whole thing, same as she spoiled William Tyler Longwhale and our second honeymoon; she’d manage to take all the fun out of it and make us feel we were irresponsible old fools if we ever did anything except sit and knit. KNITTING! We either go quick, and go secret, and go to-night, or we never go at all. And I’m going. Are you going with me? Are you my wife?’