"Since the middle of May," was the reply. "But I expect to leave shortly. I'm out of a job now, and so must look elsewhere."
"What have you been working at?"
"Oh, anything that turns up."
The stranger was quick to note the almost hopeless tone in Jasper's voice as he uttered these words, and he studied the young man more closely.
"Where did you live before you came here?" he asked.
"At college. I was almost through when reverses came, and so I had to get out. I have been trying to earn enough to finish my course, but everything seems to be against me. I understand farming and naturally took to the land in preference to other work."
"What were you studying at college?" the man asked.
"Electrical engineering."
"I see. But was there not something you could have obtained along that line? Surely there must have been some opening."
Jasper made no reply. There was a reason, but he did not feel inclined to reveal his secret to a complete stranger, upon such a brief acquaintance.