The major took out his cigarette case, found a match, and sent several tiny clouds rolling up among the branches before he spoke. And his answer was another question.
"You read the details of the Landon divorce case?" he hazarded.
"Yes," said Aylmer. "One could hardly escape it."
"You remember, then, that at the close the respondent was very nearly committed for contempt of court?"
"He lost his temper, or his head," agreed Aylmer, "and threatened his wife. I don't think any one attached much importance to his vaporings."
"Ah!" Despard nodded his head thoughtfully. "I suppose that would be the point of view with most people."
"Not with yourself?" suggested Aylmer.
Despard shook his head.
"I have known the Van Arlens for many years," he said quietly. "Perhaps you have forgotten that my own mother was an American, that a good deal of my boyhood was passed in New York."
"I didn't know you knew the Van Arlens; in fact, I could hardly suspect it, when to the best of my remembrance you never even discussed the Landon divorce case with me."