Samuel Hopkins Adams

“ The Great American Pumess shot forth a little paw—such a soft, shapely, hesitant, dainty, appealing little paw—and laid it on Hal's hand.
"Please," she said.
"But, Esmé,"—he began. It was the first time he had used that intimacy with her. Her eyes dropped.
"We're partners, aren't we?" she said.
"Of course."
"Then you won't let them print it!"
"If Miss Pierce goes rampaging around the streets—"
"Please. For me,—partner."
"One would have to be more than human, to say no to you," he returned, laughing a little unsteadily. "You're corrupting my upright professional sense of duty." ”

“ The whole is greater than the part: the creator is greater than the thing he creates. They say, 'Surtaine of Certina.' It should be, 'Certina of Surtaine.' There's more to come of Surtaine."
His voice dropped to the old, pleading, confidential tone of the itinerant; as if he were beguiling them now to accept the philosophy which he was to set forth.
"What is life, my dear friends? Life is a paper-chase. We rush from one thing to another, Little Daisy Happiness just one jump ahead of us and Old Man Death grabbing at our coat-tails. ”

“ Miss Pierce stamped a well-shod foot in memory of her manifold wrongs. Then feminine curiosity interposed a check. "Esmé! Are you engaged to Hal Surtaine?"
"No, indeed!" The girl's laughter rang silvery and true.
"Are you going to be?"
"I'm not going to be engaged to anybody. Not for a long time, anyway. Life is too good as it is."
"Is he in love with you?" persisted Kathleen.
Esmé lifted up a very clear and sweet mezzo-soprano in a mocking lilt of song:—
"How should my heart know What love may be?"
The visitor regarded her admiringly. "Of course he is. What man wouldn't be! ”