“You’re not? Why, may I inquire?”
“I do not like to make useless requests.”
“Useless!” he exclaimed, his self-esteem stung by her raillery. “Do you think I cannot quit smoking them?”
“I think you do not care to try.”
Impulsively he snatched out a package of his expensive cigarettes and tossed it over his shoulder. Another and another and still others followed in rapid succession, until he had exhausted his supply.
“How’s that?” he demanded her approval.
“Well, it’s not so bad for a start-off,” she answered with an absence of enthusiasm that dashed him from his pose of self-abnegation.
“You don’t realize what that means,” he complained.
“It means, jilt Miss Nicotine in haste, and repent at leisure.”
“You’re ragging me! You ought to be particularly nice to me. I did it for you.” 37