"No, I'm not at all apt," said Cope, returning to his theme; "not even for
self-defense. I suppose I'm pretty sure to get caught some time or other."
"Each woman according to her powers and gifts. Varying degrees of desire,
of determination, of dexterity. To be just, I might add a fourth _d_--
devotion."
"You've run the gauntlet," said Cope. "You seem to have come through all
right."
"Well," Randolph returned deprecatingly, "I can't really claim ever to have
enlisted any woman's best endeavors."
"I hope I shall have the same good luck. Of your four _d_'s, it's the
dexterity that gives me the most dread."
"Yes, the appeal (not always honest) to chivalry,--though devotion is
sometimes a close second. You're manoeuvred into a position where you're
made to think you 'must.' I've known chaps to marry on that basis.... It's
weary waiting until Madame dies and Madonna steps into her place."
"Meanwhile, safety in numbers."
"Yes, even though you're in the very midst of wishing or of wondering--or
of a careful concern to cloak either."
"Don't dwell on it! You fill me with apprehensions.
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