"Do I show it?" inquired Darrin, his face without expression.
"You are not glad to see me," Surigny went on rather sadly. "Then it is because you suspect."
"Suspect—what?" Dave demanded, to gain time.
"You know the company that I have been keeping," the young Count continued.
"Has it been the wrong kind of company for a gentleman to keep?" Ensign Darrin asked coldly.
"You know!" cried the Count bitterly.
"Then," asked Dave, "is it indiscreet for me to ask why you have permitted yourself to associate with such company?"
"I doubt if you would believe me," replied Surigny, wincing.
"Is there any good reason why I should believe you?" Dave returned, studying the Frenchman's face.
"Perhaps none so good as the fact that I am a gentleman," the Count of Surigny answered more boldly. "The word of a gentleman is always sacred."