“Oh, I know that,” she returned very bitterly.  “You’re like all the men.  You can’t play fair.  Men don’t know how.”

That stung him.  “Fair or unfair, you’ve done all the playing so far,” he said.  “If you thought I was such a tame fool as to put up with it—­well, that’s not my fault.”

“No, it’s never your fault,” said Toby.  She made a little vehement movement to extricate herself, but finding him obdurate, abandoned the attempt.  “You’re not a fool, Bunny Brian.  You’re a beast and a coward,—­there!”

“Be careful!” warned Bunny, his dark eyes gleaming ominously.

But she uttered a laugh of high defiance.  “Oh, I’m not afraid of you.  You’re not full-grown yet.  You’re ashamed of yourself already.”

He coloured deeply at the taunt, but he maintained his hold upon her.

“All right,” he said.  “Say I did it all!  It doesn’t matter how you put it.  The fact remains.”

“What fact?” said Toby swiftly.

He clasped her a little closer.  “Well,—­do you think I’m going to let you go—­after this?”

She caught her breath sharply.  “What do you mean?  I—­I—­I don’t know what you mean!”

There was quick agitation in her voice.  Again she sought to free herself, and again he frustrated her.  But the violence had gone out of his hold.  There was even a touch of dignity about him as he made reply.

“I mean, you little wild butterfly, that now I’ve got you, I’m going to keep you.  You’ll have to marry me and make the best of me.”

“Marry you!” said Toby as one incredulous.

“Yes.  What’s the matter with the idea?  Don’t you want to?” Bunny’s good-looking young face came close to hers.  He was laughing, but there was a half-coaxing note in his voice as well.

Toby was silent for a moment.  Then:  “You’re mad!” she said tersely.

“I’m not!” said Bunny.  “I’m perfectly serious.  Don’t you understand that when this kind of thing gets hold of you, there’s no getting away from it?  We can’t possibly go back to where we were before—­behave as if nothing had happened.  You wouldn’t want to, would you?”

There was a hint of pleading in his tone now.  Toby made a curious little gesture that seemed to express a measure of reassurance.  But, “I don’t know,” she said somewhat dubiously.

“You aren’t angry, are you?” said Bunny softly.

She hesitated.  “I was.”

“Yes, but not now—­when you’ve begun to realize what a jolly thing life together would be.  It isn’t as if we’d never met before.  We’re pals already.”

“Yes; we’re pals,” said Toby, but still her voice was dubious.

“I say, be a sport!” the boy urged suddenly.  “You said you weren’t afraid of me.  Don’t chuck the best thing in life for want of a little ordinary courage!”

“What is—­the best thing in life?” said Toby.

His hold grew close again, but it remained gentle.  “You marry me,” he said, “and I’ll show you!”