"To Richmond."
"To Richmond!"
That seemed greatly to surprise him, and he asked why I was going to that city, and if I knew any one there. I said that I knew Dr. Manning; that I had met him in the West Indies, and he had promised me a position as his secretary.
By this time he had let Verley alone, and was staring at me hard. After a moment he said:
"Do you know Dr. Manning well?"
"No; but he has been kind enough to offer me the position," I replied. He seemed to turn this over in his mind, and then he said:
"Put your little dog back in his box, and suppose you come along and have dinner with me."
I did not even think of refusing. Heedless of the frantic cries of my poor little dog, I followed this stranger into the dining-car.
I don't know what we ate. I do know it was the first time I had ever had clams. I did not like them at all, and asked him what they were. He seemed highly amused. He had a way of smiling reluctantly. It was just as if one stirred or interested him against his will, and a moment after his face would somehow resume its curiously tired expression. Also I had something to drink,—I don't know what,—and it came before dinner in a very little glass. Needless to say, it affected me almost immediately, though I only took two mouthfuls, and then made such a face that again he laughed, and told me I'd better let it alone.
It may have been because I was lonely and eager for some one I could talk to, but I think it was simply that I fell under the impelling fascination of this man from the first. Anyhow, I found myself telling him all of my poor little history: where I had come from; the penniless condition in which I had arrived in Jamaica; my work there; the people I had met; and then, yes, I told him that very first day I met him, of that horrible experience I had had in the Government House.