“Fitz, you’re not the man to say that of another man without some good reason.”
“I am not, Miss Polly.”
“You think that Mr. Perkins is not the kind of man for me to have anything to do with?”
“I—I’m afraid he isn’t.”
“Don’t you think that, having gone so far, you ought to tell me why?”
Carroll flushed.
“I would rather tell your father.”
“Are you implying a scandal in connection with my timid, little dried-up scientist?”
“I’m only saying,” said the other doggedly, “that there’s something secret and underhanded about that place of his in the mountains. It’s a matter of common gossip.”
The girl laughed outright.