ides!" Almost plaintively he turned and
stared for a second from the Young Electrician's embarrassed grin to
the Youngish Girl's more subtle smile. "Why, I'm nearly fifty years
old," he said, "and since I was fifteen the only learning I've ever
got was what I picked up in trains talking to whoever sits nearest to
me. Sometimes it's hens I learn about. Sometimes it's national
politics. Once a young Canuck farmer sitting up all night with me
coming down from St. John learned me all about the French Revolution.
And now and then high school kids will give me a point or two on
astronomy. And in this very seat I'm sitting in now, I guess, a
red-kerchiefed Dago woman, who worked on a pansy farm just outside of
Boston, used to ride in town with me every night for a month, and she
coached me quite a bit on Dago talk, and I paid her five dollars for
that."

"Oh, dear me!" said the Youngish Girl, with unmistakable sincerity.
"I'm afraid you haven't learned anything at all from me!"

"Oh, yes, I have too!" cried the Traveling Salesman, his whole round
face lighting up suddenly with real pleasure. "I've learned about an
entirely new kind of lady to go home and tell my wife about. And I'll
bet you a hundred dollars that you're a good deal more of a 'lady'
than you'd even be willing to tell us. There ain't any provincial--
'Don't-you-dare-speak-to-me--this-is-the-first-time-I-ever-was-on-a-train
air about you! I'll bet you've traveled a lot--all round the
world--froze your eyes on icebergs and scorched 'em some on tropics."

"Y-e-s," laughed the Youngish Girl.

"And I'll bet you've met the Governor-General at least once in your
life."

"Yes," said the Girl, still laughing. "He dined at my house with me a
week ago yesterday."

"And I'll bet you, most of anything," said the Traveling Salesman
shrewdly, "that you're haughtier than haughty with folks of your own
kind. But with people like us--me and the Electrician, or the
soldier's widow from South Africa who does your washing, or the Eskimo
man at the circus--you're as simple as a kitten. All your own kind of
folks are nothing but grown-up people to you, and you treat 'em like
grown-ups all right--a hundred cents to the dollar--but all our kind
of folks are _playmates_ to you, and you take us as easy and pleasant
as you'd slide down on the floor and play with any other kind of a
kid. Oh, you can tackle the other proposition all right--dances and
balls and general gold lace glori