“Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“My dear little girl—it is such a surprise. Fancy meeting you!” he laughed airily. “Where’s old Jeth? What’s the joke?” His eyes fell to her hands again. “You’re married? It was to be the sixth—wasn’t it? No—the sixteenth?” He looked at a calendar.
“The tenth.”
“To-day’s the fourth. Are you playing a trick? How did you know I was here? I say, Pam, be square. Is he—Jethro, you know—waiting outside? The old fellow must look odd in a frock-coat. Does he lift each foot along the pavement, as if he were walking through stubble? If he’s up, I can give him a good tip. The new company——”
“The ruby mine. I know. I saw your name—that is why I came.”
“Does he want an investment?”
She clasped her hands with an air of hopeless, helpless tragedy.
“You men are all alike. Can’t you see an inch before your nose? Do you think I should come up here about rubies? Oh! can’t you see it on my face? Jethro was just as bad; he made me tell him everything.”
“Everything?”
His handsome face became blank.