“You know Miss Kenwardine; if I recollect, you were rather enthusiastic about her. What is she like?”
Jake’s eyes twinkled. “You mean—is she good enough for Dick? He’ll be a lucky man if he gets her, and I don’t mind confessing that I thought of marrying her myself only she made it clear that she had no use for me. She was quite right; I’d have made a very poor match for a girl like that.”
Ida was not deceived by his half-humorous manner, for she remarked something that it was meant to hide. Still, Jake had had numerous love affairs that seldom lasted long.
“Have you been to see her since you came back?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Jake. “After helping to drive her father out of the country, I knew it would be an awkward meeting, but I felt I ought to go because she might be in difficulties, and I went twice. On the whole, it was a relief when I was told she was not at home.”
“I wonder whether she would see me?”
“You’re pretty smart, but I suspect this is too delicate a matter for you to meddle with.”
“I’ll be better able to judge if you tell me what you know about it.”
Jake did so with some hesitation. He knew his sister’s talents and that her object was good, but he shrank from betraying his comrade’s secrets.
“I think I’ve put you wise, but I feel rather mean,” he concluded.