Rules of Civility

The Wolcott’s camp turns out to be a two-story mansion. Tinker is elated to see Katey, and his enthusiasm compels him to give her a tour of the place. But Katey is exhausted from having worked all day and then taken the train. Tinker notices this and sends her to bed. After she unpacks, she pulls out an Agatha Christie novel. She’d never read mystery novels before due to an admitted snobbery on her part, but she loves the Christie novel. She begins reading the caper but soon dozes off while listening for Tinker’s footsteps, though they never come.

The next morning, Tinker wakes her and informs her that he’s cooking breakfast. She dresses, then walks along the hallway looking at photographs. She goes into Tinker’s room and finds that he’s reading Walden. He’s even underlined some passages. When she goes down to breakfast, she sees that she and Tinker are wearing nearly identical outfits: white shirts and khaki pants. Tinker is tanned, unshaven, and happy. He asks her if she wants to go hiking, but she admits she’s not a hiking person. Besides, she has no boots. He then takes her to a room in the house that has all one could ever need for a hike.