"Astrupp had caught a fever in Florence, and I was rushing
away for fear of the infection, when our stupid little train
ran off the rails near Pistoria and smashed itself up.
Fortunately we were within half a mile of a village, so we
weren't quite bereft. The village was impossibly like a toy
village, and the accommodation what one would expect in a
Noah's Ark, but it was all absolutely picturesque. I put up
at the little inn with my maid and Ko Ko--Ko Ko was such a
sweet dog--a white poodle. I was tremendously keen on poodles
that year." She stopped and looked thoughtfully towards the
fire.
"But to come to the point of the story, Jack, the toy village
had a boy doll!" She laughed again. "He was an Englishman
--and the first person to come to my rescue on the night of the
smash-up. He was staying at the Noah's Ark inn; and after
that first night I--he--we--Oh, Jack, haven't you any
imagination?" Her voice sounded petulant and sharp. The man
who is indifferent to the recital of an old love affair
implies the worst kind of listener.
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