"I think he is."
"There!" exclaimed Mrs. Wilbur triumphantly. "You do consider him extraordinary, don't you?"
"I do. So much so that I have asked him to go out with us to-morrow night—Oh, it's to-night, isn't it? The Captain says we will leave at nine-thirty, and go as far as Portland."
"Why, I think that is fine," said Mrs. Wilbur, greatly surprised. "Well," she added, after a pause, "you could scarcely give a greater proof of your liking, for I know how careful you are not to commit yourself to being bored by anybody on the yacht. Why didn't he tell me when he left to-night?"
"Because he did not expect to accept. He may do so yet, however. I told him he might decide at the last minute."
"Why did he hesitate? Perhaps because you didn't invite Mr. Kelly."
"Oh, but I did. I told him they might reign supreme in the music-room and work as much as they pleased."
"How delightful! Then why didn't he jump at such a prospect? I suppose because they wouldn't get to New York so quickly."
"No, he has considerable latitude concerning the date for arrival in New York. I'll tell you just what he replied when I asked him. He looked me straight in the eye and he said: 'Thank you, Mr. Wilbur, but it wouldn't do me any good to take such a trip. It's best for me to play safe. I've passed the age when it is permissible to cry for the moon.' He said it slowly, with pauses. He was perfectly willing I should know what he meant, and he saw that I did know."