'No, not to speak of,' he replied, with a melancholy sigh. 'If I can't be Jessie's lover--don't be angry with me for using the word--I can be her friend, and yours. It rests with you to say the word. If you know enough of Turk West to trust him, say so, Chris, and he pledges himself to act faithfully in your interest. He may be of more use to you than you imagine. Well?'
'I should be an ungrateful brute not to say that I accept your offer thankfully, Turk.'
'That's settled, then. Shake hands on it. And now, Chris, we'll be silent for just two minutes, and then we'll go into the matter.'
At the end of that time he resumed.
'I said that there was more in your story than meets the eye, Chris, my boy; and there is. Jessie disappears on your birthday, suddenly, without any forewarning. This morning everything was nice and pleasant with all of you at home.'
'With the exception of uncle Bryan,' I interrupted; 'you mustn't forget that.'
'I don't forget it, but then he is the same as he usually is, and there's nothing unusual in that. She is affectionate to you; she is affectionate to your mother; and I think that she couldn't have avoided seeing that there was to be a little celebration of her birthday to-night. Well, it is plain to me that this morning she had no idea of going away. Now what has occurred since this morning to cause this sudden change in her? That's the first thing to consider.'
I could not think of anything. Jessie had not been out of our house.
'There's something I have not told you, Turk, but I don't see what it can have to do with Jessie's going from us. We were talking together once, when Jessie said that she wondered that I had never asked her any questions about herself--she meant about herself before she came to live with us. I answered that mother had desired me not to do so, because uncle Bryan might not like it.'
'What had he to do with it? asked Turk.