"So they tell me."
"I love Ned, Dad," was the gentle confession.
"But Sykes is a gentleman," said McClure testily.
"Ned is a man. I love a man, a real man, Dad."
McClure rose to his feet, the old passion rising afresh.
"I cannot agree with you. A man would not sneak into the bluffs to be alone with the girl he respects."
The stroke drew blood. A flush swept over the sensitive face.
"I did meet Ned once alone by accident," was the admission. "At all other times Margaret Grant joined us. We have not had even these interviews for weeks."
"How long have you been encouraging Pullar?"
"Ned and I became intimate in our first year at the University."