"Well, there's been some talk of your marrying that young Milbrey. Now tell me the inside of it."
She looked at the old man closely. Her intuition confirmed his own protestations of friendliness.
"I don't mind telling you in strict confidence, there was talk of marriage, and his people, all but the sister, encouraged it. Then after she was engaged to Shepler they talked him out of it. Now that's the whole God's truth, if it does you any good."
"If you had married him you'd 'a' had a position, like they say here, right away."
"Oh, dear, yes! awfully swagger people—dead swell, every one of them. There's no doubt about that."
"Exactly; and there ain't really any reason why you can't be somebody here."
"Well, between you and I, Mr. Bines, I can play the part as well as a whole lot of these women here. I don't want to talk, of course, but—well!"
"Exactly, you can give half of 'em cards and spades and both casinos, Mrs. Wybert."
"And I'll do it yet. I'm not through by any means. They're not the only perfectly elegant people in this town!"
"Of course you'll do it, and you could do it better if you had three or four times the stake you got."