you are not grateful to anybody for anything; you are indifferent, and
you can't help being nice to people, so--some day--some girl will think
you are grateful, and will have a miserable time of it."

"Miserable time?"

"Waiting for you to say what never will enter your head to say."

"You mean I--I--"

"Flirt? No, I mean that you don't flirt; that you are always dreamily
occupied with your own affairs, from which listlessly congenial
occupation, when drawn, you are so unexpectedly nice that a girl
immediately desires to see how nice you can be."

"What a charming indictment you draw!" he said, amused.

"It's a grave one I assure you. I've been talking about you to Grace
Ferrall; I asked to be placed beside you at dinner; I told her I hadn't
had half enough of you on the cliff. Now what do you think of yourself
for being too nice to a susceptible girl? I think it's immoral.

They both were laughing now; several people glanced at them, smiling in
sympathy. Alderdene took that opportunity to revert to the sketch,
furnishing a specimen of his own inimitable laughter as a running
accompaniment to the story of Quarrier and his dog in North Carolina,
until he had everybody, as usual, laughing, not at the story but at him.
All of which demonstration was bitterly offensive to Quarrier. He turned
his eyes once on Miss Landis and on Siward, then dropped them.