He couldn't talk their talk just yet, though in time he would.

Upon that he was resolved.

But in the meantime, talk he must, and it must be his own talk, toned down, of course, so as to be comprehensible to them and so as not to shook them too much.

And furthermore, he wouldn't claim, not even by tacit acceptance, to be familiar with anything that was unfamiliar.

In pursuance of this decision, when the two brothers, talking university shop, had used "trig" several times, Martin Eden demanded:- "What is _trig_ ?" "Trignometry," Norman said; "a higher form of math." "And what is math ?" was the next question, which, somehow, brought the laugh on Norman.
"Mathematics, arithmetic," was the answer.
Martin Eden nodded.