"
"I don't see myself letting you turn back," said Nick. And said it so
firmly that Angela, never opposed by him before, looked up in surprise. He
was not smiling. Evidently he was in earnest, deadly earnest. She knew
that what he told her she would have to do, and, oddly enough, she grew
quite calm.
"When our stage comes along," he said in a low voice, "I shall get in
before any one else, and keep a place for you. Don't hesitate a second,
but be ready for a jump. I'll have you up by my side before you know
what's happened. Kate must be close behind, and I'll try to swing her up
to the next seat."
"Why shouldn't _we_ have the back places, since somebody must?" Angela
questioned meekly.
"Because I want you to have the best there is, and I'm going to get it for
you, that's the only reason," Nick explained, leaving no room for further
argument. "It's the least I owe you, after failing to keep my other
promises."
She said no more; and round her the fight for places went on, desperate,
yet extraordinarily good-natured. People tried with all their might to
grab what they coveted, but if somebody else snatched it from under their
noses, why, blame Kismet! The rule of the game was to make no moan.
Always, as a new relay surged forward, Nick by some insidious manoeuvre
edged Angela and Kate nearer to the front.
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