"I only copied and revised. The book was finished before I left Lake Tahoe-an ideal place for work. Some day I shall have a log cabin up there. May I smoke?"
"Of course."
"It is almost a shame to desecrate a flower…. I used to come in here sometimes and look round … the week I spent here…. The room is a poem … like you…. Or rather the binding of the prose poem that is Alexina."
"I'd love it if you made me the heroine of one of your novels."
"You'll have much more fun living it yourself."
"Fine chance. I don't suppose I'll ever get out of California again….
I am afraid that Morty is doing quite badly."
Gora shrugged her strong square shoulders. "I never expected anything else. I asked him for another thousand dollars of my money when I was here and he looked as if he had forgotten he owed me any. Just like a man and Morty in particular. Then he said he expected to make an immense profit on something or other he had ordered from the Orient and would pay me off when I returned. Has he condescended to tell you anything about his affairs?"
"Not a word. Did you need the money badly? If I had been here I could have lent it to you."
"Thanks. I am sure you would. But I dislike the idea of borrowing. It must be so depressing to pay back…. I was in no particular need of it, for of course I've saved quite a bit. I merely have a natural desire for my own and thought it was a good opportunity to strike Morty…. I suppose he's been speculating. Fortunes have been made in Tonopah, but he would be sure to buy at the wrong time or in the wrong mine…. Has he ever asked you for money?"
"Never. He knows, too, that I have quite a sum in bonds that I could convert into cash at once."