'I like you!' returned Aunt Bel, nodding at him. 'Where do you come from? A young man who'll let himself go for small coin's a jewel worth knowing.'
'Where do I come from?' drawled Laxley, who had been tapping an egg with a dreary expression.
'Aunt Bel spoke to Mr. Harrington,' said Rose, pettishly.
'Asked him where he came from,' Laxley continued his drawl. 'He didn't answer, so I thought it polite for another of the twenty to strike in.'
'I must thank you expressly,' said Evan, and achieved a cordial bow.
Rose gave Evan one of her bright looks, and then called the attention of Ferdinand Laxley to the fact that he had lost a particular bet made among them.
'What bet?' asked Laxley. 'About the profession?'
A stream of colour shot over Rose's face. Her eyes flew nervously from Laxley to Evan, and then to Drummond. Laxley appeared pleased as a man who has made a witty sally: Evan was outwardly calm, while Drummond replied to the mute appeal of Rose, by saying:
'Yes; we've all lost. But who could hit it? The lady admits no sovereign in our sex.'
'So you've been betting about me?' said Aunt Bel. 'I 'll settle the dispute. Let him who guessed "Latin" pocket the stakes, and, if I guess him, let him hand them over to me.'