No, Mr. Queed must confess that he was not like that. Indeed, few looking at his face at this moment would ever have suspected him of it. Fifi regarded him with a kind of wistful sadness, but he missed the glance, being engaged in consulting his great watch; after which he sprang noisily to his feet, horrified at himself.
"Good heavens—it's ten minutes past five! I must go immediately. Why, I'm twenty-five minutes behind My Schedule!"
Fifi smiled through her wistfulness. "Don't ask me to be sorry, Mr. Queed, because I don't think I can. You see, I haven't taken up a minute of your time for nearly a month, so I was entitled to some of it to-day."
You see! Hadn't he figured it exactly right from the beginning? Once give a human being a moment of your time, as a special and extraordinary kindness, and before you can turn around there that being is claiming it wholesale as a matter-of-course right!
"It was so sweet of you to send me these flowers, and then to come and see me, too.... Do you know, it's been the very best day I've had since I've been sick, and you've made it so!"
"It's all right. Well, good-bye, Fifi."
Fifi held out both her tiny hands, and he received them because, in the sudden emergency, he could think of no way of avoiding them.
"You'll remember what I said about friends, and men—won't you, Mr. Queed? Remember it begins with liking people, liking everybody. Then when you really like them you want to do things for them, and that is happiness."
He looked surprised at this definition of happiness, and then: "Oh—I see. That's your religion, isn't it?"
"No, it's just common sense."