“‘I will, young man, and you can start your shell game at your pleasure. But I won’t stand for any science work or nonsense. If you bore me I shall tell you so and that means all bets are off and you go your way.’
“‘We’ll begin now,’ said he quietly, but there was a certain air of confidence in his voice that made me wonder.
“‘First, I’m going to tell you about yourself,’ he went on to say. ‘You’re pretty much like an engineer who went along forty years without an accident and then his engine broke down and both went to the ditch in a heap. You’ve been successful in business, anyone would know that at a glance, but you’ve made a mess of your physical resources.’ I nodded. He was right thus far.
A one-minute reverie
“‘You started in early at the game, your affairs grew, your responsibilities enlarged, and you worked your gray matter overtime without stopping to oil up your machinery. In other words, you have never played, you haven’t laughed, you haven’t mingled with people in a social way. So now you are pretty near ready for the scrap heap. Am I right?’
“‘Uhuh—go on,’ said I.
“‘You once came pretty near asking a fine woman to marry you, but something came up and you forgot it.’
“‘Yep—you’re right, Mr. Mind-Reader. Proceed,’ I said, ‘and whatever you do or say don’t mind my feelings.’ He noted the resentment in my voice I presume, for he waited some time before going on.
“‘The rest is easy—any life insurance agent who knows his business could take up the story at this point and go ahead with it.’ He laughed good-naturedly as I shrugged my shoulders.