"Oh, not literally, I see! She expects to teach and help others in that way.

That's commendable.

But let me see." He had taken an unsharpened lead pencil from his pocket and was slipping it through his fingers absently, allowing its blunt ends to tap the arm of his chair at intervals.

After a moment's silence he plunged into his own affairs.
"You probably saw my tip to Thatcher in the 'Courier'?
I guess everybody has seen it by this time," he added grimly; and he went on as though making a statement his mind had thoroughly rehearsed: "Thatcher and I have been pretty thick.

We've been in a good many business deals together.