"I don't know exactly what to say."

"Say anything," he returned absently, selecting a flat brush with a very
long handle.

She thought a moment, then, lifting her eyes:

"I might ask you your name."

"What? Don't you know it? Oh, Lord! Oh, Vanity! I thought you'd heard of
me."

She blushed, confused by her ignorance and what she feared was annoyance
on his part; then perceived that he was merely amused; and her face
cleared.

"We folk who create concrete amusement for the public always imagine
ourselves much better known to that public than we are, Miss West. It's
our little vanity--rather harmless after all. We're a pretty decent lot,
sometimes absurd, especially in our tragic moments; sometimes emotional,
usually illogical, often impulsive, frequently tender-hearted as well as
supersensitive.

"Now it was a pleasant little vanity for me to take it for granted that
somehow you had heard of me and had climbed twelve flights of stairs for
the privilege of sitting for me."

He laughed so frankly that the shy, responsive smile made her face
enchanting; and he coolly took advantage of it, and while exciting and