There's no hurry." "What arrangements for yourself, dearie ?" "I'll tell you afterwards--after I find out something about 'em myself." "All right," he said, indulgently.

"Keep your secrets; keep your secrets." He paused, drew musingly upon his pipe, and shook his head.
"Funny--the way your mother looks at things! For the matter o' that, everything's pretty funny, I expect, if you stop to think about it.

For instance, let her say all she likes, but we were pushed right spang to the wall, if J.A.Lamb hadn't taken it into his head to make that offer for the works; and there's one of the things I been thinking about lately, Alice: thinking about how funny they work out." "What did you think about it, papa!" "Well, I've seen it happen in other people's lives, time and time again; and now it's happened in ours.

You think you're going to be pushed right up against the wall; you can't see any way out, or any hope at all; you think you're GONE--and then something you never counted on turns up; and, while maybe you never do get back to where you used to be, yet somehow you kind of squirm out of being right SPANG against the wall.
You keep on going--maybe you can't go much, but you do go a little.

See what I mean ?" "Yes.