“She”sacorker，“saidhe。“ButI”mcontenttobewhereIam。”
Susan”sdresswasnotcutoutintheneck，wassimplyofthecollarlesskindgirlsofheragewear。Itrevealedthesmooth，voluptuousyetslendercolumnofherthroat。Andherarms，baretojustabovetheelbows，wereexquisite。ButSusan”sfascinationdidnotlieinanyorinallofhercharms，butinthatsubtletyofmagnetismwhichaccountforallthesensationalphenomenaoftherelationsofmenandwomen。Shewasaclevergirl——cleverbeyondheryears，perhaps——thoughinthisdayseventeenisnotfarfromfullydevelopedwomanhood。Butevenhadshebeensilly，menwouldhavebeengladtolingeronandonunderthespellofthesexcallwhichnaturehadsubtlywovenintothetextureofhervoice，intotheglanceofhereyes，intothedelicateemanationsofherskin。
Theytalkedofallmannerofthings——gamesandcollegeEastandWest——thewondersofNewYork——theweather，finally。Samwaseverymomentofthetimepuzzlinghowtobringuptheonesubjectthatinterestedbothaboveallothers，thatinterestedhimtotheexclusionofallothers。Hewasanardentstudentofthegameofmanandwoman，hadmadeconsiderableprogressatit——remarkableprogress，inviewofhisbaretwentyyears。Hehaddevisedasmany“openings“asanexpertchessplayer。Noneseemedtofitthisdifficultcasehowtomakelovetoagirlofhisownclasswhomhisconventional，sociallyambitiousnatureforbadehimtoconsidermarrying。Asheobservedherinthemoonlight，hesaidtohimself：“I”vegottolookoutorI”llmakeadamnfoolofmyselfwithher。”Forhisheadypassionwasfastgettingthebetterofthoseprudentinstinctshehadinheritedfromafatherwhoalmostbreathedbycalculation。
Whilehewasstillstrugglingforan“opening，“Susaneagertohelphimbutnotknowinghow，therecamefromthefarinteriorofthehousethreedistantraps。“Gracious！“exclaimedSusan。
“That”sUncleGeorge。Itmustbeteno”clock。”Withfrankregret，“I”msosorry。Ithoughtitwasearly。”