“That's exactly what I'm going to tell you.”

“Impossible!” she protested. “Why, the line and finish would do credit to the finest artisan in America.”

“So I say. Look at the perfect polish of that table! It's like the finish of a rosewood piano.” He touched the smooth surface.

“Of course you're joking?” Mary answered. “No amateur could have done such work.”

“So I'd have said if I had not seen him do it.”

“What on earth possessed him to undertake such a task?”

“The love of a beautiful woman—what else?”

“He learned a trade—just to furnish this room with his own hand?”

“Yes.”

“His love must be the real thing,” she mused.