As soon as this was over, Berry and I escaped and carried Pong off to a garage, there to be oiled and greased against the morrow's race. Somewhat to our amusement, before we had been there ten minutes, our cousin arrived with Ping and the same object. Had the incident occurred at Poitiers, I should have been encouraged as well. It was another sign that Jonah did not despise his opponents, and his opinion was worth having. As it was, the compliment left me unmoved.... The truth was, Berry had that afternoon contracted two habits. Again and again on the way from Poitiers he had shown a marked tendency to choke his engine, and five times he had failed to mesh the gears when changing speed. Twice we had had to stop altogether and start again. He had, of course, reproached himself violently, and I had made light of the matter. But, for all the comfort I offered him, I was seriously alarmed. In a word, his sudden lapse suggested that my brother-in-law was entering that most unpleasant stage which must be traversed by all who will become chauffeurs and are taught, so to speak, to run before they can walk. It was after we had dined, and when my wife and I were seated--myself, by virtue of my injury, upon a couch, and she upon a cushion beside me--before the comfort of a glowing log-fire, that Adèle laid down the Guide and leaned her head against my knee. "I'm glad I married you," she said. I looked at Nobby. "So are we both," said I. "I wonder," said Adèle, "whether you are really, or whether you're just being nice." "Personally, I'm just being nice. Nobby is really. Of course, he may be making the best of a bad job. As a worldly good of mine, I just endowed you with him, and that was that." "You were both very happy before--before I came." "We thought we were." "O-o-oh," said Adèle, twisting her head around, to see my face. "You were. You know you were." The gleeful accusation of the soft brown eyes was irresistible. To gain time, I swallowed. Then-- "So were you," I said desperately. "I know I was," was the disconcerting reply. "Well, then, why shouldn't we----" "But you said you weren't." I called the Sealyham. "Nobby," said I, "I'm being bullied. The woman we love is turning my words against me." For a moment the dog looked at us. Then he sat up and begged. "And what," said Adèle, caressing him, "does that mean?" "He's pleading my cause--obviously." "I'm not so sure," said Adèle. "I wish he could talk." "You're a wicked, suspicious girl. Here are two miserable males, all pale and trembling for love of you--you've only got to smile to make them rich--and you set your small pink heel upon their devotion. I admit it's a soft heel--one of the very softest----" "----I ever remember," flashed Adèle. "How very interesting! 'Heels I have Held,' by Wild Oats. Were the others pink, too?" Solemnly I regarded her. "A little more," said I, "and I shan't teach her to drive." Adèle tossed her head.