Esther and the doctor were not lovers but lingered in that deliciously unconscious state of "going-to-be-in-love-presently" which is nothing less than heavenly.

Therefore they ate their lunch with appetite and laughed about the story of the bear.

Both were surprised when the doctor's watch told them it was time to think of home.
They came back very slowly along the shaded trail to where the car stood waiting in the brilliant light of the declining sun.
"Just a moment," said the doctor, and cranked vigorously.

A confusion of odd noises ensued, from which, somehow, the right noise did not emerge.
"Just a moment," he repeated.

"There appears to be something loose--or tight--or something.