The father fumbled his watch chain, moved uneasily and finally said with firmness:
"I am Helen's guardian!"
The boy lifted his brows:
"You are supposed to be his attorney only. Why did you, of all men on earth, accept such a position?"
"I felt that I had to."
"And the possibility of my meeting this girl never occurred to you? You, who have dinned into my ears from childhood that I should keep myself clean from the touch of such pollution—why did you take the risk?"
"A sense of duty to one to whom I felt bound."
"Duty?"
"Yes."
"It must have been deep—what duty?"