How It All Goes Down
- We're taken to one of the bustling social evenings in Leadville.
- The event begins with Helen Hunt Jackson grilling the Geological Survey dudes over whether they would illegally give inside info to their business friends. Coming out swinging, huh?
- Clarence King, the director of the survey, scoffs at the question. The room devolves into a bunch of jokes, which Susan thinks is good because a question that inflammatory might cause a fistfight.
- Helen attempts to get King to answer the question straight up, but he refuses—that is, until Oliver "unexpectedly" pipes in to second Helen's request for an actual answer (4.5.34).
- Susan sees this as a huge faux pas. Luckily, King manages to give a good enough answer (that he only hires men he trusts with his life) to defuse the situation.
- Soon afterward, the guests begin gathering their things, thanking their hosts for a lovely evening, and strolling out the door.
- Alone now, Susan takes the opportunity to chew out Oliver for his utter lack of social skills. This is a recurring complaint for her, it seems.
- Oliver tells Susan that she shouldn't worry about King not liking him because after all, the dude's already given him a job with the Geological Survey.
- Susan apologizes for being a "foolish woman" who doubts her husband (4.5.104). She quickly becomes excited at the prospect of Oliver doing something he truly loves.
- The couple begins to kiss passionately and...the chapter ends.