"Mr. Sault," she said shortly.
"Oh, Sault! He is an extraordinary fellow—I must meet him. They say that he cannot read or write."
"Is that a fact?" Sir John Maxton looked at the girl.
"Yes—I believe so. Ronnie on the contrary is in the way of becoming a famous writer, Sir John."
"So I hear." He wondered why she had so deliberately and so abruptly brought the conversation into another channel.
Ronald Morelle, for his part, was not inclined to let the subject drift. "It is quaint how that coon intrigues you all," he said, "oh, yes, he is colored. You haven't seen him, John, or you wouldn't ask that question."
"I have seen him; it did not appear to me that he was colored—he has a striking face."
"At any rate, he seems to have struck you and Beryl all of a heap," said Ronnie smiling. "Really I must meet him. Are you going, Sir John?" Maxton was taking his farewell of the girl. "Because if you are, I'll walk a little way with you. 'Bye, Beryl."
"Goodbye, Ronnie," she said quietly.
Once in the street Maxton asked: "What is the matter with you and Beryl?"