"Then there is the chance that helps us willy nilly," she urged. "You, to me, are such a chance. Surely it was not within my power to bring about this good fortune any more than it is within the power of some others to ward off bad fortune."
"The mere episode does n't count. The handling of it is always within our power."
"And we can turn it to ill or good, as we wish?"
"Precisely."
"Providing we are wise enough," she returned.
"Yes, always providing that. That is the test of us."
"If we do poorly because of lack of wisdom?" she pressed him further.
"The cost is the same," he answered bitterly.
"That is a man's view. I don't like to feel so responsible."
"It would n't be necessary for women to be responsible for anything if men lived up to their best."