“She’s the best friend I’ve got in the world,” returned Banneker, so impulsively that his interrogator looked at him curiously before continuing:
“Did you see Io at her house?”
“Yes; frequently,” replied Banneker, wondering to what this all tended, but resolved to be as frank as was compatible with discretion.
“How did she seem?”
“She was as well off there as she could be anywhere.”
“Yes. But how did she seem? Mentally, I mean.”
“Oh, that! The dazed condition cleared up at once.”
“I wish I were sure that it had ever cleared up,” muttered Densmore.
“Why shouldn’t you be sure?”
“I’m going to be frank with you because I think you may be able to help me with a clue. Since she came back from the West, Io has been unlike herself. The family has never understood her marriage with Del Eyre. She didn’t really care for Del. [To his dismay, Banneker here beheld the glowing tip of his cigar perform sundry involuntary dips and curves. He hoped that his face was under better control.] The marriage was a fizzle. I don’t believe it lasted a month, really. Eyre had always been a chaser, though he did straighten out when he married Io. He really was crazy about her; but when she chucked him, he went back to his old hunting grounds. One can understand that. But Io; that’s different. She’s always played the game before. With Del, I don’t think she quite did. She quit: that’s the plain fact of it. Just tired of him. No other cause that I can find. Won’t get a divorce. Doesn’t want it. So there’s no one else in the case. It’s queer. It’s mighty queer. And I can’t help thinking that the old jar to her brain—”