"Thank you; I don't want a brother."
"Not now, of course," he agreed. "But we never know what we may want in this queer old world, and brothers can be very useful things at times, you know."
She did not answer. She thought he was the strangest man she had ever met.
"We ought to be turning back," he said presently, "It's nearly nine o'clock, and we're some way from the hotel."
She walked reluctantly beside him.
Suddenly she asked a question.
"If you are Chris' best friend, why weren't you his best man at—at our wedding?"
She looked up at him as she spoke, and saw the quick frown that crossed his face.
"Am I to answer that question?" he asked.
"Of course. I should like to know."