”I-Ican’teat，”mumbledSweetwater，foronceinhislifethrowncompletelyoffhisbalance。”You’reverykind，butI’llmanageallright。I’drather。I’mnotquitedressed，yousee，andImustgettotheshop。”Thenhethought-”WhatanopportunityI’mlosing。HaveIanyrighttoturntailbecauseheplayshisgamefromtheoutsetwithtrumps?No，I’veasmalltrumpsomewhereaboutmetolayonthistrick。Itisn’tanace，butit’llshowI’mnotchicane。”
Andsmiling，thoughnotwithhisusualcheerfulness，Sweetwateradded，”Isthecoffeeallmade?Imighttakeadropofthat。Butyoumustn’taskmetoeat-Ijustcouldn’t。””Yes，thecoffeeismadeanditisn’tbadeither。You’dbetterputonyourcoat；thehall’sdraughty。”AndwaitingtillSweetwaterdidso，heledthewaybacktohisownroom。Brotherson’smannerexpressedperfectease，Sweetwater’snot。Heknewhimselfchangedinlooks，inbearing，infeeling，even；butwashechangedenoughtodeceivethismanontheveryspotwheretheyhadconfrontedeachotherafewdaysbeforeinakeenmoralstruggle?Thelooking-glasshepassedonhiswaytothetablewherethesimplebreakfastwasspreadout，showedhimafiguresounlikethealert，business-likechaphehadbeenthatnight，thathefelthisoldassurancereviveintimetoeaseasituationwhichhadnocounterpartinhisexperience。”I’mgoingoutmyselfto-day，sowe’llhavetohurryabit，”wasBrotherson’sfirstremarkastheyseatedthemselvesattable。”Doyoulikeyourcoffeeplainorwithmilkinit?””Plain。Gosh！whatpictures！Wheredoyouget’em?Youmusthavealotofcoin。”Sweetwaterwasstaringattherowofphotographs，mostlyofaveryhighorder，tackedalongthewallseparatingthetworooms。Theywereunframed，buttheyweremostlycopiesofgreatpictures，andtheeffectwasratherimposingincontrasttotheshabbyfurnitureandtheotherwisehomelyfittings。”Yes，I’veenoughforthatkindofthing，”washishost’sreply。
Butthetonewasreserved，andSweetwaterdidnotpresumeagainalongthisline。Instead，helookedwellatthebookspiledupontheshelvesunderthesephotographs，andwonderedaloudattheirnumberandatthemanwhocouldwastesuchalotoftimeinreadingthem。Buthemadenomoredirectremarks。WashecowedbythepenetratingeyeheencounteredwheneverheyieldedtothefascinationexertedbyMr。Brotherson’spersonalityandlookedhisway?Hehatedtothinkso，yetsomethingheldhimincheckandmadehimlisten，open-mouthed，whentheotherchosetospeak。
Yettherewasonecheerfulmoment。Itwaswhenhenoticedthecarelesswayinwhichthosebookswerearrangedupontheirshelves。
Anideahadcometohim。Hehidhisreliefinhiscup，ashedrainedthelastdropsofthecoffeewhichreallytastedbetterthanhehadexpected。