"Mr. Lorimer was there, that night."
"Oh, that reminds me, Arlt, I heard, to-night, that Lorimer was engaged."
"Mr. Lorimer?"
"Yes, to a Miss Dane. It is only just announced, to-day. I was dining with her cousin and he told me."
"She must be good. I hope she is also strong of character," the boy said, with a curiously deliberate accent which seemed characteristic of him. "He is a good man and a kind one; but he needs a steadying hand. I shall write to the mother and Katarina."
"Will they like the news?"
"Why not? Mr. Lorimer is their friend, and they will be glad of any happiness which shall come to him. To the mother, he is like a son, for she is simple-hearted and knows nothing of the world. To Katarina, he is like a god."
"But gods don't usually marry," Thayer suggested whimsically, as he took up his coat.
However, Arlt was ready for him.
"Zeus did, and Homer tells us how he quarrelled with his wife.'"