what's the good of your offering it to me? You
may not know it, Callaghan, but I'm something of an expert in textual
criticism. I can separate up the Book of Genesis into its component
documents as well as any man living, and I'm quite capable of telling
by internal evidence, that is to say by considerations of style and
matter, whether any particular verse is written by the same man that
wrote the verse before. Now in both respects, matter and style, I
recognise in your story the strongest possible evidence of fabrication.
Any literary critic who knew his business would agree with me. In the
first place, Miss King wouldn't have run to meet that judge. She'd
have run away from him if she ran at all."

"It was to him she did run," said Callaghan, "and what's more--"

"In the second place," said Meldon, "the judge wouldn't have spoken
that way to Patsy Flaherty. If he'd wanted to have the car stopped
he'd have said, 'Pull up for a minute, my good man,' or words to that
effect."

"Well," said Callaghan, "it might have been that he said. How was I to
hear what passed between them when I was half ways across the lawn at
the time scuffling the path with my hoe?"

"And if you couldn't hear," said Meldon, "what on earth do you mean by
pretending to repeat to me the exact words the judge used?"

"I told you the best I could. If them wasn't the words he said he
looked mighty like as if they were. Any way Patsy Flaherty gave over
lambasting the old mare, and she stood still, the way you'd think she
was glad of the rest. Then the gentleman took a lep down off the car,
and away with him to meet the lady."

"Well?"

"She was mighty glad to see him," said Callaghan, "for she kissed him
twice."

"Nonsense," said Meldon, "she couldn't possibly have kissed him. And,
listen to me now, Callaghan. You set up to be mighty particular about
moral conduct, and the day I first talked to you about Miss King you
said a lot about disliking any kind of impropriety. But you don't
hesitate to tell me a grossly scandalous story about a lady who never
did you any harm. I don't think you ought to do it."

"There was no impropriety of conduct about it."

"There was. How can you possibly say there wasn't? What could be more
improper, judged by any conceivable standard of conduct, than for a
young lady to go rushing and tearing across a lawn--and I declare I
don't like to repeat the thing you said."

"There was no impropriety