THERE was a prelude to the adventure of the nice old man, but it developed almost without his being aware of it. During a short break in his work he had been obliged to see in his office an old woman who introduced him to a girl in whom she tried to interest him, her own daughter. They had been granted an interview because they brought a letter from a friend of his. Called off thus suddenly from his work, the old man could not get it altogether out of his mind. He looked in bewilderment at the note, trying to take it in and put an end to the interruption as soon as possible.
The elder woman did not cease talking for a moment, but he caught or understood only a few short sentences: “The young woman was strong and intelligent, she could read and write, but she read better than she wrote.” Then a sentence struck him, because it was so odd: “My daughter will take any work for the whole day, provided she has the short time off she needs for her daily bath.” Finally the old woman made the remark which brought the scene to a swift close: “They are taking women as drivers and conductors on the trams now.”
Quickly making up his mind, the old man wrote an introduction to the Manager of the Tramway Company and dismissed the two women. Left alone with his work, he interrupted it for a moment to think: “What on earth did that old woman mean by telling me that her daughter bathes every day?” He shook his head, smiling with an air of superiority. This shows that old men are really old when they have to do anything.