Mimi looked at Claude with a very serious expression as he said this, and was silent for a few minutes.
"He is a friend of papa's," said she at last. "He came out with us—"
"Is he a great friend of yours?" asked Claude.
Mimi hesitated for a moment, and then said,—
"No; I do not like him at all."
Claude drew a long breath.
"Nor do I," said he.
"Perhaps I am doing him injustice," said Mimi, "but I cannot help feeling as though he is in some way connected with dear papa's troubles. I do not mean to say that he is the cause of them. I merely mean that, as far as I know anything about them, it is always in such a way that he seems mixed up with them. And I don't think, either, that his face is very much in his favor, for there is something so harsh and cruel in his expression, that I always wish that papa had chosen some different kind of a person for his friend and confidant."
"Is he all that?" asked Claude.
"O, I suppose so," said Mimi. "They have secrets together, and make, together, plans that I know nothing about."