"No; I only asked out of idle curiosity," adding, with familiar assurance, "Mrs. Lenoir, you are a poor woman."
Mrs. Lenoir made a motion with her hand, which denoted that the appearance of her room afforded a sufficient answer to the question. Her eyes never left his face, as though they were seeking to see the workings of his mind.
"You need give yourself no uneasiness," proceeded Ned, "about the cigar-case."
"I know nothing whatever of it."
"I am not implying that you do."
"Of course you are not--as a gentleman speaking to a lady."
"By Jove! that is the way to put it," cried Ned, gratified at this apparent recognition of his quality. "As a gentleman speaking to a lady! It is reasonable that I should wish to find it--not for its value; that is not of the slightest consequence, but because it was a gift, from my--my----"
"From your----"
"From my father. One wishes to keep such presents as those."
"Naturally."