Ralston had listened without comment while the little man told his story, satisfied, as he proceeded from point to point, that everything was going well for him, at last, and mentally reducing Miner’s strong expressions to the lowest key of probability.
“So it was my mother who went first to Doctor Routh,” he said, as though talking with himself, while Miner relighted his cigar.
“Yes,” answered Miner, between two puffs. “I confess to having been impressed.”
“It’s like her,” said John. “It’s just like her. You didn’t happen to see any note for me lying on the hall table, did you?” he asked, rather irrelevantly.
“No—but I’ll go and look, if you like.”
“Oh—it’s no matter. Besides, they know I haven’t been out this morning, and they’d bring anything up. I’m very much obliged to you, Frank, for all this. And I know that you’ll tell anybody who talks about it just what I’ve told you. I should like to feel that there’s a chance of some one’s knowing the truth when I come into the room this evening.”
“Oh, they’ll all know it by that time. Routh’s letter will run along the ground like fire mingled with hail. As for Teddy Van De Water, he lives on the papers. Of course they won’t fly at you and congratulate you all over, and that sort of thing. They’ll just behave as though nothing at all had happened, and afterwards, when we men are by ourselves, smoking, they’ll all begin to ask you how it happened. That is, unless you want to tell the story yourself at table, and in that case I’ll set you on, as I said.”
“I don’t care to talk about it,” answered John. “But—look here, Frank—listen! You’re as quick as anybody to see things. If you notice that a number of the set don’t know about Routh’s letter—that there’s a sort of hostile feeling against me at table—why, then just set me on, as you call it, and I’ll defend myself. You see, I’ve such a bad temper, and my bones ache, and I’m altogether so generally knocked out, that it will be much better to give me my head with for a clear run, than to let people look as though they should like to turn their backs on me, but didn’t dare to. Do you understand?”
“All right, Jack. I won’t make any mistake about it.”
“Very well, then. It’s a bargain. We won’t say anything more about it.”