"Have you ever been in one?" he asked. "Mine is here, and I was about to invite you to go down to the ferry in it. I'll promise to go slow."
"Well," said Mrs. Holt, "I don't object to going that distance, if you keep your promise. I'll admit that I've always had a curiosity."
"And in return," said Brent, gallantly, "allow me to send you a cheque for your working girls."
"You're very good," said Mrs. Holt.
"Oh," he protested, I'm not in the habit of giving much to charities, I'm sorry to say. I'd like to know how it feels."
"Then I hope the sensation will induce you to try it again," said Mrs.
Holt.
"Nobody, Mrs. Holt," cried Honora, "could be kinder to his friends than
Mr. Brent!"
"We were speaking of disinterested kindness, my dear," was Mrs. Holt's reply.
"You're quite right, Mrs. Holt," said Trixton Brent, beginning, as the dinner progressed, to take in the lady opposite a delight that surprised him. "I'm willing to confess that I've led an extremely selfish existence."
"The confession isn't necessary," she replied. "It's written all over you. You're the type of successful man who gets what he wants. I don't mean to say that you are incapable of kindly instincts." And her eye twinkled a little.