"You can't be quite sure; but I'd try to please you."
"I--I--I----" He was about to remark that there was not the slightest necessity for her to try, since she could not help but please him, whether she tried or not, when a sudden fear came to him that his remark might be misconstrued; so he pulled himself up in time. "The remark I was about to make is, since--since I desire to be quite plain, in order that we may not commence with--with a misunderstanding; what it is I wish to point out is that the post may be of a purely temporary nature."
"That doesn't matter; it would be something; and that's better than nothing. How long would it be likely to last?"
"That's--that's not easy to determine; the fact is it's really a jobbing secretary that's wanted."
"What is a jobbing secretary?"
"One who works by the job."
"By the job?"
"Let me explain. Say there's a job--that is, a piece of work--wants doing; when that's done there may be an interregnum before more's required."
"I see. And--will the secretary be paid by the job?"
"Paid by the job?"