Dr. Cheyney looked around at her with quizzical eyes. “A shopkeeper,� he replied. “I reckon that’s about as far as you got before to-day, wasn’t it?�
She colored. “I suppose it was,� she admitted, and then added, “Not quite, doctor; I saw that he was odd.�
The old man smiled. “Di,� he said, “when you were no higher than my knee you’d have been more truthful. You know, as well as I do, that the man is above the average; he’s keeping shop and reading law down at Judge Hollis’ office, and he’s trying to teach the backwoodsmen honest politics. Taken out a pretty large contract, eh?�
Diana looked down at her fine strong hands lying crossed in her lap; her face was deeply thoughtful. “I suppose he’s bent on rising in politics,� she said, with a touch of scorn in her voice; “the typical self-made man.�
“You didn’t happen to know that he was a gentleman,� Dr. Cheyney remarked dryly.
She met his eye and smiled unwillingly. “I did,� she said; “I saw it—to-night.�
“Oh, you did, did you?� The old man slapped Henk with the reins. “Well, what else did you see?�
“Very little, I imagine,� she replied. “I suppose I thought he had ‘a story’; that’s the common thing, isn’t it?�
“Maybe,� admitted the doctor, “but it isn’t so, as far as I know. Caleb Trench comes of good old stock in Pennsylvania. His father lost a fortune just before Caleb left college; the old man’s dead, and his wife, too. Trench has had to work and work hard. He couldn’t take his law course, and he’s never complained. He got together a little money and had to pay it all out for his sister; she was dying of some spinal trouble, and had to be nursed through a long illness and buried. Trench gave every cent; now he’s making a new start. Hollis likes him, so does Miss Sarah.�
Diana smiled. “It’s something to please Miss Sarah.�