“I think you have made a useful friend to-day,” she said.
Appleby looked at her with a little astonishment, and the girl smiled when he said, “I don’t understand.”
“I mean Cyrus P. Harding. There are quite a number of men with dollars anxious to be on good terms with him.”
“What have I done to please him?”
“You wouldn’t come to Glenwood,” and the girl laughed again. “No, I don’t mean that exactly, but I need not explain. Cyrus P. Harding never did a mean thing in his life, you see.”
Appleby smiled at her. “So one would surmise. In my country we rather believe in heredity.”
“Pshaw!” said the girl. “There really isn’t much in compliments when they’re served out all round. But if you are going to Cuba I may see you there.”
“Will you be in Cuba?”
Nettie Harding nodded. “My father has no end of dollars there—in tobacco and sugar.”
“I wonder if one could ask what induced Mr. Harding to invest money in such an unsettled country as Cuba is just now?”