In this excerpt from a short story published in 1914, a young
man arrives by train to take a new position as an assistant,
or secretary, to a certain Mrs. Culme. He discovers that
despite the winter weather, no one from her household has
come to meet him at the station
from "The Triumph of Night"
by Edith Wharton
It was clear that the sleigh from Weymore had
not come; and the shivering young traveller
from Boston, who had so confidently counted
on jumping into it when he left the train at
Northridge Junction, found himself standing
alone on the open platform, exposed to the
full assault of nightfall and winter.
Read the two underlined paragraphs on page 6
of the story. What is conveyed by Faxon's
response to the youth's question?