I'm an English girl and I can't marry a coward--a coward--a coward--a coward." Her voice ended on a foolish high note, for Randall, very white, had seized her by the wrist.
"You little fool," he cried.

"You'll live to repent what you've said." He released her, mounted his motor bicycle, and rode away.

Phyllis watched him disappear up the avenue; then she walked rather blindly back to the bench and sat down among the ruins of a black and abominable world.

After a while the friendly robin, seeing her so still, perched first on the back of the bench and then hopped on the seat by her side, and cocking his head, looked at her enquiringly out of his little hard eye, as though he would say: "My dear child, what are you making all this fuss about?
Isn't it early June?
Isn't the sun shining?
Aren't the chestnuts in flower?
Don't you see that bank of dark blue cloud over there which means a nice softening rain in the night and a jolly good breakfast of worms in the morning?
What's wrong with this exquisitely perfect universe ?" And Phyllis--on her own confession--with an angry gesture sent him scattering up among the cool broad leaves and cried: "Get away, you hateful little beast!" And having no use for robins and trees and spring and sunshine and such like intolerable ironies, a white little wisp of a nurse left them all to their complacent riot and went back to the hospital..