A wave of emotion passed over his face.
"You don't mean that?" he murmured.
"Yes, I do. You have shown me new lights."
"I thought I was speaking platitudes," he said simply. "It would be nearer the truth to say you have given me new lights."
The little face flushed with pleasure; the dark skin shining, the eyes sparkling. Esther looked quite pretty.
"How is that possible?" she said. "You have read and thought twice as much as I."
"Then you must be indeed poorly off," he said, smiling. "But I am really glad we met. I have been asked to edit a new Jewish paper, and our talk has made me see more clearly the lines on which it must be run, if it is to do any good. I am awfully indebted to you."
"A new Jewish paper?" she said, deeply interested. "We have so many already. What is its raison d'être?"
"To convert you," he said smiling, but with a ring of seriousness in the words.
"Isn't that like a steam-hammer cracking a nut or Hoti burning down his house to roast a pig? And suppose I refuse to take in the new Jewish paper? Will it suspend publication?" He laughed.