"I didn't know that I mustn't look downcast. I did n't suppose it would
be very polite, under the circumstances, to go round looking as bobbish
as I feel."

"It's the best thing you could possibly do. But you're not feeling very
bobbish now." A woman respects the word a man uses, not because she would
have chosen it, but because she thinks that he has an exact intention in
it, which could not be reconveyed in a more feminine phrase. In this way
slang arises. "Is n't it time for Mr. Maynard to be here?"

"Yes," he answered. Then, "How did you know I was thinking of that?"

"I did n't. I only happened to think it was time. What are you keeping
back, Mr. Libby?" she pursued tremulously.

"Nothing, upon my honor. I almost wish there were something to keep back.
But there is n't anything. There have n't been any accidents reported.
And I should n't keep anything back from you."

"Why?"

"Because you would be equal to it, whatever it was."

"I don't see why you say that." She weakly found comfort in the praise
which she might once have resented as patronage.

"I don't see why I should n't," he retorted:

"Because I am not fit to be trusted at all."