They whispered and rustled and rose and fell away in the dark room, with the music moving and turning them.

"But you did come to the dance," said Tom.

"I did," said Cecy.

"Here." And he danced her lightly out an open door and walked her quietly away from the hall and the music and the people.

They climbed up and sat together in the rig.

"Ann," he said, taking her hands, trembling. "Ann." But the way he said the name it was as if it wasn"t her name. He kept glancing into her pale face, and now her eyes were open again. "I used to love you, you know that," he said.

"I know."

"But you"ve always been fickle and I didn"t want to be hurt."

"It"s just as well, we"re very young," said Ann.

"No, I mean to say, I"m sorry," said Cecy.

"What do you mean?" Tom dropped her hands and stiffened.

The night was warm and the smell of the earth shimmered up all about them where they sat, and the fresh trees breathed one leaf against another in a shaking and rustling.

"I don"t know," said Ann.

"Oh, but I know," said Cecy. "You"re tall and you"re the finest-looking man in all the world. This is a good evening; this is an evening I"ll always remember, being with you." She put out the alien cold hand to find his reluctant hand again and bring it back, and warm it and hold it very tight.

"But," said Tom, blinking, "tonight you"re here, you"re there. One minute one way, the next minute another. I wanted to take you to the dance tonight for old times" sake. I meant nothing by it when I first asked you. And then, when we were standing at the well, I knew something had changed, really changed, about you. You were different. There was something new and soft, something…" He groped for a word. "I don"t know, I can"t say. The way you looked. Something about your voice. And I know I"m in love with you again."

"No," said Cecy. "With me, with we."

"And I"m afraid of being in love with you," he said. "You"ll hurt me again."

"I might," said Ann.

No, no, I"d love you with all my heart! thought Cecy. Ann, say it to him, say it for me. Say you"d love him with all your heart.

Ann said nothing.