"And after that I thought with a vengeance."
"Do you write things?" asked Amanda abruptly, and it seemed to him
with a note of hope.
"No. No, it was just a private puzzle. It was something I couldn't
get straight."
"And you have got it straight?" asked Amanda.
"I think so."
"You were making up your mind about something?"
"Amanda DEAR!" cried her mother.
"Oh! I don't mind telling you," said Benham.
They seemed such unusual people that he was moved to unusual
confidences. They had that effect one gets at times with strangers
freshly met as though they were not really in the world. And there
was something about Amanda that made him want to explain himself to
her completely.
"What I wanted to think about was what I should do with my life."
"Haven't you any WORK--?" asked the elder cousin.
"None that I'm obliged to do."
"That's where a man has the advantage," said Amanda with the tone of
profound reflection. "You can choose. And what are you going to do
with your life?"
"Amanda," her mother protested, "really you mustn't!"
"I'm going round the world to think about it," Benham told her.
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