She whirled suddenly on her feet, extending her arms against an imaginary gale, and bending over, her finger on her lips, pretended to gaze into unfathomable depths. "But you never fall in," he said wisely. Instantly she straightened up. "Oh, dear, no! for then, you see, there would be only _one_ precipice, endlessly, forever and ever! No more precipices, no more fun, no more Dodo--and that would be unbearable!" "And are there many precipices, Dodo?" he said, assuming the privilege. "Oh, dear, yes--many precipices," she said, watching him maliciously. "There are old precipices, but those aren't interesting! Then, there are new ones, too; oh, yes, several very interesting new ones!" "Blainey," he said; but she shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not a precipice," she said seriously. But at once, back in her roguish mood, she continued: "Sassoon's a moderately exciting precipice, only he will look so ridiculous as he goes spinning down, all arms and legs!" She took a few steps toward the door, and put her hand to her ear. "And I think there was the beginning of another precipice there to-night; only--oh!" She exaggerated the exclamation with a confidential nod to him. "That is a very risky one. I shall have to be very careful, and always have a long start!" "Others?" "Others? Of course there are others!" she said indignantly. "Everywhere--naturally--but I'm not going to tell you. You know entirely too much already. Only of one!" "Aha!" "A very curious one, but very exciting! A precipice that I can see right here in this room!" "An old one?" "Not at all! Quite new!" She made a pretense of simulating it on the rug, to pass mockingly under his eyes, daintily, with steps that trod on air. "Do you want to know where it is?" "Where?" "It runs from the tip of this mischievous, naughty red slipper, right straight across the carpet, to--let me see! where does it go? Over--over--over here!" She came with her head down, peeping up from under her eyelashes, balancing with her hands on an imaginary line, straight by him, laughing to herself, and passed so close that he felt the flutter of her dress and the warm perfume from her hair. "Little devil!" he said between his teeth, and flinging out his hand, caught her retreating shoulder. She wrenched herself free, sprang away and turned, blazing with anger, forgetting all that she had done wilfully, maliciously, to tantalize him--illogical, unreasoning, wildly revolting at the acquiring touch of this male hand on her free body. "How dare you!" she cried, advancing on him, gloriously enraged, fists clenched. "How dare you! You--you contemptible--you--oh, you brute, brute! You dare to touch me again--you dare!" She turned suddenly, striking him on the chest with her little fists, crude, futile, repeated blows, choking with shame, still in the dramatized mood. "You dared--you dared! And I trusted--oh!"