“Well—ye—”
“Was it a big one?” demanded Mr Durant, entering into the spirit of the game.
“No, it was a little one,” said Queeker, still feeling safe, although anxious to evade reply.
“Was there a man in it?” said Katie.
Queeker hesitated.
“And a boy?” cried Stanley.
The question was put unwittingly, but being so put Queeker stammered, and again blushed.
Katie on the contrary turned pale, for her previously expressed hope that there might be some connection between Queeker’s mission and Billy Towler’s troubles flashed into her mind.
“But was there a boy in it?” she said, with a sudden earnestness that induced every one to look at her in surprise.
“Really, I pray—I must beg,” said Queeker, “that you won’t make this a matter of even jocular inquiry. Of course I know that no one here would make improper use of any information that I might give, but I have been pledged to secrecy by my employers.”