For all her spectacles and crape the golden haired stranger was fascinatingly young and pretty.
A.O.was provoked that her visitor should show to such disadvantage even before this unknown lady who apparently was taking no notice of them.
But when he paused she could think of nothing to say herself for a moment or two.

Then, to break the silence which was growing painful, she plunged into an account of one of the last escapades of her wicked room-mate, whom she pictured as a most fascinating, but a desperately reckless creature.

It was funny, the way she told it, and it sent Jimmy off into a spasm of mirth.

But she would almost rather have bitten her tongue out than to have caused Jimmy to explode in that wild bray of a laugh.

He slapped his knee repeatedly, and doubled up as if he could laugh no longer, only to break out in a second bray, louder than the first.