often , as he made his escapes , he wondered whether there might be some tiny clue , some inkling , a pointer which ought to have alerted him to give that type of fellow a wide berth in the first place : a hopeful glint in their eyes towards people who appeared to be running low on conversation , the whisper of a smile in ones direction for no reason , a tripping on a shoelace or a small spilling of a drink , followed by an enormous ( though unmerited ) gwafour serving as an icebreaker of such nave innocence that it were impossible to turn away .