She had impressed him as a gentle, wise, elderly little creature, who appeared to live for others, and chiefly for her grandfather.

She was not unusually pretty, nor yet young,--quite as old as himself,--and yet he wondered what it was that made her so interesting.

He decided that it was the honesty of her nature, her beautiful thoroughness; and then he thought little more about her.

But now he dropped into quiet, natural talk with her, as if they had known each other for years.

But most women found that they dropped quickly into easy talk with him.