I've seen her sit silent a whole evening," he said, turning to Mary, as he had frequently done already.

"Don't you find that, too?
Sometimes when we're alone, I've counted the time on my watch"-- here he took out a large gold watch, and tapped the glass--"the time between one remark and the next.
And once I counted ten minutes and twenty seconds, and then, if you'll believe me, she only said 'Um!'" "I'm sure I'm sorry," Katharine apologized.

"I know it's a bad habit, but then, you see, at home--" The rest of her excuse was cut short, so far as Mary was concerned, by the closing of the door.

She fancied she could hear William finding fresh fault on the stairs.

A moment later, the door-bell rang again, and Katharine reappeared, having left her purse on a chair.