“Colonel Mellersh?”
“Mum!”
“Oh, there’s no one to hear us now. But, I say, Jo-si-ah, why is he so friendly with Miss Clode?”
“Because she sells packs of cards, old girl.”
“Ah, but there’s something more than that. I went in there one day, and he had hold of her hand across the counter; and I could see, though she turned it off, that she had been crying.”
“Asking her to wed, and let him succeed to the business,” said Barclay, with a chuckle.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Jo-si-ah. I wish I had a good, clear head like you, and was as clever, and then perhaps I could make this out.”
“What?”
“About Miss Clode. I’m sure she has seen better days.”
“That she has,” said Barclay, chuckling. “She looks pretty shabby now, a newsy, gossiping old hag!”