“Furniture. Wholesale furniture. I’m traveling for a firm in Tucson; Robinson and Company. Have you ever been there?”
“Oh, no; this is my first trip West.”
“It’s a nice town, but hot right now. I’m lucky to be away. Just had a letter from my—my sister and she says the heat is unbearable. Unbearable.”
She murmurs sympathetically and looks back at the wheat, while you remember that at times you talk too much about yourself. Ah, well then....
“If it isn’t too personal—what part of the country do you hail from?”
“Illinois. Darien. It’s just a little town. I’m going out to Colorado to visit and maybe I’m going to stay. If I can get a job teaching and if I like the country, I mean.”
“Really? Now, I’d have said you were from New York.”
There is a pleased little silence.
“Why, what a funny idea. Why should you think I’m from New York?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A man in my business gets so he can spot people pretty quickly, and he can’t exactly tell how, nine times out of ten.”