"Do you tell me not to go?"
"I can't do that. I only tell you what I believe."
"She said nothing of the sort?"
"No—nothing explicit."
"Merely declined to listen?"
"Yes—but in a way."
"My dear Eugene, aren't you deceiving yourself?"
"I think not. I think, you know, you're deceiving yourself."
They looked at one another, and suddenly both men smiled.
"I want to spare you," said Eugene; "but it sounds a little absurd."