Emily interrupted herself. She had already begun to answer the expected question—And how do you like America?
“Not my husband, my advance agent,” she said. “He doesn’t climb on anywhere. He runs behind.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Charlie. “Well, say, listen. I belong to the Welcoming Committee of Seattle. I’ll tell the world it’d be highly appreciated if you could put Seattle someway on your skedule and say a few words in the Wesleyan Hall. We don’t get too many auto-scooter experts on this side; no ma-am, believe me.”
“I’d be delighted,” replied Emily. “I’ll have to go to Seattle to get to Alaska, won’t I? I did give a lecture once before by mistake. I was going round the world then on a Caterpillar Tractor—demonstrating it, you know. I had a mechanic and a friend on board. We passed sounds of shouting in a saloon in Dryville, Mo. My friend went in to enquire the reason and he came out presently with the chairman, having by some mistake led him to understand that we were each prepared to give a short address to the meeting. I gave rather a clever word picture of Piccadilly (Eng.) during an air-raid. It was unfortunate that the English accent had never before been heard in Dryville, Mo., so I believe the meeting took my address for a farmyard imitation. My friend, a Philadelphian, spoke lucidly on the Mating of Canaries in Captivity. The mechanic was very shy; when he was finally pulled from behind the bar and placed on the platform he said nothing but ‘My God.’ Nobody thought to tell us until we were leaving that the meeting was really supposed to be about Seventeen Year Locusts.”
“Is that right?” asked Charlie with a confused look on his face. “Say listen, ma’am. You’re not married?”
“I know it,” said Emily plaintively. “I know it.... My mother often points that out to me. To my mother I am the prodigal daughter and the fatted calf is getting absolutely apoplectic waiting for me. But, personally, I love swine and they love me. Did you ever think of the Prodigal Son from the swine’s point of view? They missing him so dreadfully and looking for him everywhere with little whining grunts.... And him gone for ever. No, as you say, I am not married. Engaged two or three deep, if you like, but not married. Why?”
“Well, say, don’t you want to dance?”
While they danced Edward sat and felt relieved. Always when he was alone he felt relieved. To have no effort to make was blessed to him. If anyone were with him he thought constantly, “I am surely doing something wrong.” His trust in himself was always on the point of collapse. Now he thought, “For the moment I need do nothing. No one can blame me now for doing nothing. No one can laugh at me now.”
He was smothering a suspicion that Emily talked too much. Would Jimmy have said, “Good Lord, the woman’s a bore?” Edward would not listen to this thought.
Emily came back saying, “Well, so long, Charlie. See you in Seattle.”