46/85 For it was a mistake. Slowly and sociably, with full pauses and straight dashes, Strether had so delivered himself; holding little Bilham from step to step deeply and gravely attentive. The end of all was that the young man had turned quite solemn, and that this was a contradiction of the innocent gaiety the speaker had wished to promote. He watched for a moment the consequence of his words, and then, laying a hand on his listener's knee and as if to end with the proper joke: "And now for the eye I shall keep on you!" "Oh but I don't know that I want to be, at your age, too different from you!" "Ah prepare while you're about it," said Strether, "to be more amusing." Little Bilham continued to think, but at last had a smile. "Well, you ARE amusing--to ME." "Impayable, as you say, no doubt. |