"Just in time," he said, shipping the paddle. "Snug in here, isn't
it?"

"We _should_ have got wet in another minute! I hope it won't last
long."

"I hope it will, because I've got something very important to say to
you, and I don't want to have to hurry it. Are you quite comfortable?"

"Yes, thanks."

"I don't know how to put it exactly. I mean, I don't want to offend
you or anything. What I mean to say is--do you mind if I smoke?
Thanks. I don't know why it is, but I always talk easier if I've got a
cigarette going."

He rolled one with great deliberation and care. Molly watched him
admiringly.

"You're the only man I've ever seen roll a cigarette properly, Jimmy,"
she said. "Everybody else leaves them all flabby at the ends."

"I learned the trick from a little Italian who kept a clothing store
in the Bowery. It was the only useful thing he could do."

"Look at the rain!"

Jimmy leaned forward.