The ease with which he drifted into our conversation was not surprising, because above whatever else I may say about him, he is a most intelligent man. He showed why this respect I give him (not in the least bit begrudgingly, might I add) is justified in the offhand manner in which he pulled it off, from the generalist's evenhanded opening to the specialist's esoteric exposition. Layers upon layers were shedded in his simple gambit, and I doubt the others suspected that there was a structure to it all. For the second time in as many weeks, I strove to ascribe those welling tears to the light-hearted merriment of the situation.