At first she met with small success, but as she talked on Evelyn grew interested in spite of herself and began asking half timid, half eager questions about New York.

Was it hard to get work there?
Could a girl live on six or seven dollars a week in a large city?
How did these girls go about it to find positions?
In what section of the city did most of the working girls, who had no homes, live?
Kathleen answered her questions imperturbably, telling of her own experience in New York as a beginner of newspaper work.

Later Evelyn plied her with countless questions regarding the stage, its advantages and disadvantages.

The throb of anxiety in her voice was stronger than her elaborate pretense of indifference.

Figuratively, Kathleen pricked up her ears.