III
He kept Miss McGoun after he had finished dictating. He searched for a topic which would warm her office impersonality into friendliness.
“Where you going on your vacation?” he purred.
“I think I’ll go up-state to a farm do you want me to have the Siddons lease copied this afternoon?”
“Oh, no hurry about it.... I suppose you have a great time when you get away from us cranks in the office.”
She rose and gathered her pencils. “Oh, nobody’s cranky here I think I can get it copied after I do the letters.”
She was gone. Babbitt utterly repudiated the view that he had been trying to discover how approachable was Miss McGoun. “Course! knew there was nothing doing!” he said.