"Russian! I thought Russians all had long hair and carried bombs."
"Some of 'em do. I'm not that kind. The half of me that's English is the biggest half, and the safest."
"I'm glad of that. I'd hate to think of you as bein' a Bolshevik."
"H-m. So would I."
"But Russia's where you get your music from, isn't it? The band leader at Glassboro is a Russian. He can play every instrument. Did you learn music in Russia?"
Beth was now treading dangerous ground and so it was time to turn the tables.
"Yes, a little," he said, "but music has no nationality. Or why would I find a voice like yours out here?"
"Twenty miles from nowhere," she added scornfully.
"How did you come here, Beth? Would you mind telling me? You weren't born here, were you? How did you happen to come to Black Rock?"
"Just bad luck, I guess. Nobody'd ever come to Black Rock just because they want to. We just came. That's all."