Page:Three speeds forward.djvu/71

 discourage me more about a man than if he didn't, and there's a heap in that old saying about "Love me, love my dog." Only sometimes the dog won't reciprocate, which in this case, fortunately, didn't happen, and everything was delightful.

It was about noon when we first began to back, and I know that nobody will believe me when I say it took us six hours to reach the county road. Mr. Marsden was very cautious about overheating, and was a great stickler for being on the safe side. Anyway, we'd back and stop, back and stop, back and stop, till we felt we'd been years together and were declining into middle age. We must have stopped fifty times, and as we had a separate talk each time, you can see for yourself that we were bound to get more and more confidential, and steadily advance the spark of friendship.

His whole past life gradually came out, and it was most strange and exciting and pathetic. His father had been the inventor of an ex-