Hester Earle was English, and proud of the decorous tranquillity of the life she led. “No,” she said. “That is, nothing really worth mentioning. Where did you get charged with explosives, Nettie?”
Nettie felt that one of the stoutest threads she had laid her fingers upon had snapped in a most unexpected manner, but she had observed the British character, and was not quite convinced. It was, she reflected, after all a question of what Hester Earle considered worthy of mention.
“In Cuba,” she said. “Now, I was worrying about something, and because you are one of those quiet persons who think a good deal I’d like your opinion. Suppose you or somebody else had a friend who was in trouble through other people’s fault, and would not say a word to clear himself, and you found how you could make things straight for him? The answer to that seems easy, but it gets complicated by the fact that to do it you would have to stir up no end of mud and startle quite a few nice easy-going people.”
“Speaking generally, I should leave the mud alone, and feel that the friend knew best. After all, he may have been to blame.”
“No,” said Nettie. “The man I was thinking of never did a mean thing in his life.”
“Then you can ask Violet Wayne. She is even quieter than I am, and I believe she thinks a good deal.”
Tony and his companion joined them then, and Violet took her place beside Nettie, while the man sat down on the smooth strip of turf that sloped to the sunken tennis lawn.
“You seem to have been discussing something serious,” he said.
“Yes,” said Hester. “Nettie has been comparing herself with a torpedo, and wished to know whether it would be desirable for her to go off or not. I recommended her to submit the case to Violet. Hadn’t you better begin, Nettie? You rather like an audience.”
Nettie was seldom abashed, and the position appealed to her. She had only vague surmises to go upon, and one of the clues had snapped, but the rest might hold, while such an opportunity of discovering the sentiments of the woman who might prove to be most involved could scarcely occur again. It was accordingly with a little thrill of excitement she put the question a trifle more concisely than she had done to Hester, and though she smiled at the others, watched Tony closely. He was certainly astonished, though the case was so outlined that it could scarcely be identified with his own; but his indolent carelessness stood him in good stead, and he sat still, listening with no great show of interest until Nettie concluded.