[LMB] Mirror Dance: Mark's encounter in the caravanserai

[BOB!!]

I'm in the middle of rereading Mirror Dance, and was enjoying Mark's
witty repartee with the punk & the little old lady in the
caravanserai (and really wishing that I had Lois writing all *my*
dialogue), and had a series of thoughts upon the start of the attack.
 For those without a copy of the book handy, I'll provide a summary &
then a quotation, then follow up with my thoughts (and a poll, for
anyone who wants to play along):
Ivan brings Mark to the caravanserai for the first time, Mark wanders
off on his own.  A little old lady & a young punk make light of his
mutie apppearance, Mark comes up with much cleverer insults.
"The attack was sudden, and almost took Mark by surprise; he thought
that etiquette demanded they exchange a few more insults first, and
he was just working up some good ones."

As I read the quoted material I thought: 1) our favorite author
wanted Mark to exchange a few more insults first, but couldn't think
of any more good ones; 2) the scene as originally written had a few
more insults and an editor 'suggested' she cut them; 3) she wrote a
few more insults and then cut them herself because she had a better
idea: or 4) that was the scene as originally written and conceived.
Anyone have any other possibilities?

Now for the poll part:  What's your guess/preference of the possible
options listed above?  My personal favorite choice is #1.  If it's #2
or #3, I'd love to see the additional insults.

Regards,

BOB!!


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