"Were you compelled to work like that?"
"I thought so. It seemed to be the custom of the country; one had to get used to it."
Evelyn hesitated a moment; though she was interested.
"But was there nothing easier? Had you no money?"
"Very little, as a rule; and what I had I tried to keep. It was to give me a start in life. It was hard to resist the temptation to use some of it now and then, but I held out." He laughed grimly. "After all, I suppose it was excellent discipline."
The girl made a sign of comprehending sympathy. There was a romance in the man's career which had its effect on her, and she could recognize the strength of will which had held him to the laborious tasks he might have shirked while the money lasted. Then a stain on the sleeve of his jacket caught her eye.
"You have hurt your hand!" she exclaimed.
Vane glanced down at his hand, which was reddened all over.
"It looks like it; those slates must have cut it."
"Hadn't you better wash it and tie it up? It seems a nasty cut."