"I can," I said, "but unfortunately I have no bicycle of my own. I use my sister's sometimes when I am at home."
"That is a pity," he said. "Pollie's machine will be sent down to-morrow. It would be nice if you could ride with her."
"Do you cycle?" asked Miss Dicks, turning to Mr. Faulkner.
"I have not ridden since I came back from India," he said.
"Did you ride there?" she asked.
"Yes; I often rode with my students," he said. "In the province where I was living the roads were as smooth and level as a billiard-table, so that riding was delightful."
"Then I don't wonder that you have not ridden since," Jack said.
"Are the roads very bad about here?" she asked, glancing at him. "You ride, of course?"
"They are not so bad," he replied, "but I don't say they would compare favourably with a billiard-table."
"You will ride with me, won't you?" she said to him with a fascinating smile.