Julie, whirling about, caught sight of him and screamed at the top of her lungs. Having expressed herself thusly she leaped for the car, tore the door open and threw herself inside. Then, slamming the door and snapping the catch, she started fumbling feverishly in her bag for the keys. Marc hastened down the steps and across the lot. He banged on the car door. "Julie!" he cried. "Listen to me! I can explain about the girl. She was only helping me trap the congressman. She's gone now. Julie, are you listening?" Julie paused in her frenzied gropings and looked out at him. She lowered the window just a crack with an unnerved hand. "Beat it, you--you apparition!" she quavered. "I can't see you, I really _can't_! So it's no good your pretending you're there. You're not, and I know it. Go away!" "Apparition?" Marc said. "I'm no apparition. Julie, it's me--Marc!" Julie's gaze steadied a trifle. "You're sure?" she asked. "You're really there?" "Of course I am. Let me in the car, please, dear." * * * * * She hesitated, but in the end she opened the door, reached out gingerly and touched him. Then, with a smile of reassurance, she slid over to make room for him beside her. "Oh, Marc!" she cried. "I'm so glad it's you. I thought I saw you just sort of fade away in there and ... I guess I've been out of my mind with worry." Marc reached out an arm and drew her close to him. "It's all right, dear," he said. "It's all over now." "But the doctors said you had to be operated on. They said you were dying." "Oh, that," Marc said hedging. "Well--that was just a gag, a trick to make the congressman expose himself. Where are the doctors now?" "Asleep," Julie said. "Asleep?" "Yes. It seems that one of them got excited and spilled a big can of chloroform on all three of them. They looked very relaxed when I left." "Probably needed the rest," Marc said. "They seemed quite energetic." He patted her shoulder. "So do we. Shall we go home?" Julie nodded. Marc started the car. "Marc...?" "Yes, dear?" "About that girl, the one with red hair. That was very silly of me, wasn't it?" "Silly?" Marc asked. "The way I got it into my head that there was something between you two. That was silly, wasn't it?" "Very silly," Marc said. "I don't know how you ever thought of such a thing." He turned and smiled at her. "But I forgive you." Julie moved closer. "Thank you, dear," she murmured. "You're very kind and understanding. Besides, if I'd just stopped to think about it I'd have realized she wasn't the kind you'd ever give a second thought." Marc backed up the car and headed out of the lot. "Of course not, dear," he said. A smile played at the corner of his lips as he gazed off into the distance. "Never a second thought...." * * * * *