"How?"
"I mean, of her life--what life do you suppose she'll lead eventually:
this young lady so moral, unmoral or--"
"I can't say exactly," Nielsen, who disliked the topic, interrupted.
"Think she'll take to the streets?"
"No, no, not that!" was the vehement denial.
"Why not?"
Again, Nielsen seemed unable to answer, but he boasted unexpectedly:
"She's too strong. She has fight in her--and love of freedom."
"But so have street ladies."
"Yes, but they don't carry it through."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," was the stubborn reply. "They don't, that's all."
"Well, do you? Does Tom, Dick or Harry? Does Erna?"
"I don't know. Let's drop the subject."
"_I_ wouldn't be so certain that she does," Breen insinuated, still
persisting.
"Of course, _you_ wouldn't," Nielsen condemned, unable longer to hold
back his emotion. "You're wisdom itself."
The young artist decided to shift the topic: "Heard from Carstairs
lately?"