"I hope we can get home by seven," said Ruth.
"Anything of importance?"
"Yes, there is. I had a date with Mr. King tonight." Ruth was not only anxious to keep the engagement with her friend but was also anxious to show Golter that his slurs and innuendos had made no other impression on her than to create a stronger desire to be more loyal to her friend. She was filled with a feeling of disgust for Golter.
This information was evidently not very pleasing to Golter. He became less talkative and the conversational atmosphere became rather chilly.
They had driven but a few miles when Golter stopped the car.
"What is the trouble?" Ruth asked.
"Something wrong with the engine." He got out and worked for fifteen minutes. Ruth felt relieved when he closed down the hood. He got into the car and they started. They had not gone far when he stopped the engine again and remarked, "There is something wrong yet with the engine."
"Oh, I wish I were an automobile mechanic for a little while so that I could know whether there is really anything wrong with that engine," thought Ruth.
Harold King's heart was singing a joyful melody as he went to the home of his friend, Ruth Babcock. He was happy because he had a chance at a big job. He felt more efficient because he was wearing a neat suit of clothes. There is a psychological value in clothes. A man who is poorly and shabbily clad may be ever so brilliant and honorable a man, but the shabby clothes detract from his confidence and power.