The
thing to do, of course, was to ignore them and assume everything
was all right. After all, of what importance were the opinions of
a girl about practical things?
How the thing cropped up he did not afterward remember, but at the
thirteenth green he found himself mentioning that all reformers
were out of touch with facts. They were not practical.
The smug finality of his verdict nettled her. This may or may not
have been the reason she sliced her ball, quite unnecessarily. But
it was probably due to her exasperation at the wasted stroke that
she let him have it.
"I'm tired of that word. It means to be suicidally selfish.
There's not another word in the language so abused."
"Didn't catch the word that annoys you," the young man smiled.
"Practical! You used it yourself. It means to tear down and not
build up, to be so near-sighted you can't see beyond your reach.
Your practical man is the least hopeful member of the community.
He stands only for material progress. His own, of course!"
"You sound like a Farnum editorial, Alice."
"Do I?" she flashed. "Then I'll give you the rest of it. He--your
practical man--is rutted to class traditions.
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