"I don't think you need feel discouraged," she returned. "A good method is everything, and I have no doubt you might soon be in form again."
"Thanks for your encouragement," said John, smiling. "I was beginning to feel quite low in my mind about it." She laughed a little.
"I heard quite a good deal about you last year from a very good friend of yours," said Miss Clara after a pause.
John looked at her inquiringly.
"Mrs. Bixbee," she said. "Isn't she an old dear?"
"I have reason to think so, with all my heart," said John stoutly.
"She talked a lot about you to me," said Miss Clara.
"Yes?"
"Yes, and if your ears did not burn you have no sense of gratitude. Isn't Mr. Harum funny?"
"I have sometimes suspected it," said John, laughing. "He once told me rather an amusing thing about a young woman's running off with one of his horses."