Marley leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and began twirling his hat in his hands. Then, thinking the attitude lacking in respect, he sat up again.
“Then, I was careful of my habits,” Dudley went on. “I never touched a bit o’ tobacco, nor tasted a drop o’ liquor in my life.”
He paused, and then:
“Do you use tobacco?” he asked.
“Sometimes,” Marley hesitated to confess.
“Cigarettes?”
“Now and then.”
“Humph! Learned that at college, I suppose.” Marley made no reply.
“Well, you’ve started wrong, young man. That wan’t the way I made myself. I never touched a drop of liquor nor tasted tobacco. I worked hard and God prospered me—yes, God prospered me.”
Dudley’s voice sank piously.