I do love him."
"Yes?"
There was a pause.
"Are you very angry, father?"
"Why should I be? Let's talk it over quietly. There's no need to make a
tragedy of it."
"I'm glad you feel like that, father."
John Bannister lit another cigar.
"Tell me all about it," he said.
Ruth found herself surprisingly near tears. She had come into the room
with every nerve in her body braced for a supreme struggle. Her
father's unexpected gentleness weakened her, exactly as he had
foreseen. The plan of action which he had determined upon was that of
the wrestler who yields instead of resisting, in order to throw an
antagonist off his balance.
"How did it begin?" he asked.
"Well," said Ruth, "it began when Aunt Lora took me to his studio."
"Yes, I heard that it was she who set the whole thing going. She is a
friend of this fellow-what is his name?"
"Kirk Winfield. Yes, she seemed to know him quite well."
"And then?"
In spite of her anxiety, Ruth smiled.
"Well, that's all," she said. "I just fell in love with him."
Mr. Bannister nodded.
"You just fell in love with him," he repeated. "Pretty quick work,
wasn't it?"
"I suppose it was."
"You just took one look at him and saw he was the affinity, eh?"
"I suppose so."
"And what did he do? Was he equally sudden?"
Ruth laughed. She was feeling quite happy now.
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