He went away soon after, and Tredennis, bidding the professor good-night, left the house with him.
As they passed down the steps Richard put his arm through his companion's with caressing friendliness.
"It wouldn't do you any harm to take a run up into Virginia yourself, once in a while," he said. "You have been losing ground since the heat set in, and we can't submit to that. We need your muscular development in its highest form, as an example to our modern deterioration. Kill two birds with one stone when you have a day's leisure,—go and see Bertha and the children, and lay in a new supply of that delightful robustness we envy and admire."
"I should be glad to see Bertha," said Tredennis.
"She would be glad to see you," Richard answered. "And, while I am away, it will be a relief to me to feel that she has you to call upon in case of need. The professor—dear old fellow—is not as strong as he was. And you—as I said before—one naturally takes the liberty of relying upon your silent substantiality."
"Thank you," said Tredennis. "If it is a matter of avoirdupois"——
Richard turned quickly to look at him.
"Ah, no," he said, "not that; though, being human, we respect the avoirdupois. It's something else, you know. Upon my word, I can't exactly say what, but something which makes a man feel instinctively that he can shift his responsibilities upon you and they will be in good hands. Perhaps it is not an enviable quality in one's self, after all. Here am I, you see, shifting Bertha and the children off on your shoulders.
"If I can be of any use to Bertha and the children why not?" said Tredennis, tersely.