"Yes," said Andrew slowly; "I never liked anybody quite as much. But that's all there is to it. She's much younger than I am, and she'll probably marry Dick."
"If she's like his sister and has been looking after him, she more probably won't. I'm getting Dick fixed as a bit of a maverick. He and his stepfather don't get on."
"On the contrary, they get on very well; that's the trouble."
"How?"
Andrew hesitated.
"Well, you see, Staffer does most things well; he's excellent company and a witty talker, the kind of man a lad would try to copy."
"Makes the pace pretty hot, eh? One of your smart set?"
"He's extravagant, but he never gets into debt. He'll play cards on champagne half the night, and get up next morning as steady as a rock and bring down a cork-screwing snipe with the first barrel. I've seldom seen a better man on a horse."
"Think I've got him placed. Your cousin will want nerve and judgment to play up to him. But we'll take the newspaper now. Why do you want to go back? You won't fight."
"I can't," Andrew replied with some color in his face. "It's my misfortune; after I fell on the Pillar Rock."