“Did she tell you why? That she has fired me out?”
“No. She didn’t.”
Banneker, a little surprised and touched at the landlady’s reticence, explained.
“Ah, well,” commented Miss Westlake, “you would soon have outgrown us in any case.”
“I’m not so sure. Where one lives doesn’t so much matter. And I’m a creature of habit.”
“I think that you are going to be a very big man, Mr. Banneker.”
“Do you?” He smiled down at her. “Now, why?”
She did not answer his smile. “You’ve got power,” she replied. “And you have mastered your medium—or gone far toward it.”
“I’m grateful for your good opinion,” he began courteously; but she broke in on him, shaking her head.
“If it were mine alone, it wouldn’t matter. It’s the opinion of those who know. Mr. Banneker, I’ve been taking a liberty.”