“We have secured an operator.”
Chesty stared at him, his comprehensive mind alert. Why did Cumberford turn his reply to evade the “man” proposition? Could a woman operate an aëroplane? Perhaps none but an inexperienced youth would have dreamed of the possibility.
“Has Stephen Kane any family?” he cautiously asked.
“A mother and sister. He is unmarried.”
“How old is the sister?”
“Seventeen.”
“Oh!” The age seemed to eliminate her. “And the mother?”
It was Cumberford’s turn to stare.
“The mother is blind,” he said.
Mr. Radley-Todd’s thoughts took another turn.