CHAPTER XXVIII.

 She caught up with him when he was getting off the belt that had taken him back to the Shelters.

 

"There's not much you can say, I suppose," she murmured. "What can you tell a girl when she learns you've stopped just short of killing¹ her?"

 

He didn't know the answer either.

 

They walked in silence.

 

She stopped at her dwelling², but didn't go in. "Still, it's an indication of how you felt—that you forgot your own name and took mine." She was smiling now. "I don't see how I can do less for you."

 

Hope stirred and he moved closer. But he didn't speak. She might not mean what he thought she did.

 

"Luis and Luise Obispo," she said softly. "Very little change for me—just add Mrs. to it." She was gazing at him with familiar intensity³. "Do you want to come in?"

 

She opened the door.

 

Crime was sometimes the road to opportunity, and retrogression could be kind.

 

—F. L. WALLACE

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

3 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。