"Nonsense," Toffee said. "You needed trouble and a good adventure. That's what was wrong with you and your life. That's why you dreamed me up. A good upheaval does anybody a lot of good. Even a bottle of medicine has to have a good shaking to be worth anything. That's why it all happened." "I wonder about Julie," Marc said darkly. "I wonder if she's...?" "Wait and see," Toffee said. "Don't rush things." A reminiscent look came into her eyes as she gazed off into the distance across the valley. Suddenly she was taken with a fit of laughter. "What is it?" Marc asked. "George," Toffee said. "I wonder where he is now." She began to laugh again. "I had a glimpse of his face just before he took off. He was the most surprised ghost that ever moaned at midnight." "Poor George," Marc said. "I suppose he didn't have a very good time of it. But then neither did any of the rest of us." "Oh, well," Toffee said. "All that's over with now." She shifted closer to Marc. "Let's get down to the important stuff." "Hey! Wait a min...?" Marc cried. But too late. Toffee had already twined her arms about his neck and was kissing him. Finally, she let him go. "You never change, do you?" Marc said shortly. "Never," Toffee said. "Isn't it delightful? I know a game that's fun. We take turns...." "No!" Marc said. "No games!" "Well, all right," Toffee sighed. "Then I guess we'll just have to go on necking." She made a second dive at him. "Help!" Marc yelled. "Help!" Then suddenly both of them froze where they were. The valley had begun to tremble and the darkness was descending rapidly. "You'll have to go now," Toffee said. "I know," Marc said. For a moment he just looked at her, hesitant. Then quickly, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Thanks," he said. "Thanks for everything." Toffee smiled gently. "Oh, hell," she said grandly, "that's all right. Just call on me any time." "Goodbye," Marc said, almost wistfully. "Goodbye, Toffee!" "So long," Toffee whispered. "Happy landings." And the little valley fell into darkness. * * * * * Marc opened his eyes, fighting the pressure of sleep that still weighted his consciousness. The government man's face, like an affidavit of official duty, appeared over him. Marc struggled to a sitting position and tried to shake the sleep out of his mind with a toss of his head. "When we were driving over, you asked me to find out about your wife," the man said. Marc nodded hopefully. "I'm sorry, Mr. Pillsworth. We haven't been able to reach her. Either here or in Reno. They're still trying, however, and they'll locate her before long, I'm certain." He glanced at his watch. "It's three forty five; we'd better be going to the stadium."