“Mr. Harrison mocked and made fun of him most unpleasantly. I thought his treatment of his brother distinctly brutal. But Mr. Joel took it very well. He seemed hurt and bewildered but I never saw him lose his temper.”
Bernard turned back to Miss Mount.
“Is that what you call ‘rather sharp’?” he asked curiously.
“Sometimes Mr. Harrison was more than sharp,” she admitted. “‘Uncle Joel’ was a great disappointment to his brother who wanted him to be equally successful. But Uncle Joel bore no malice and forgot sharp words almost as soon as they were uttered.”
“You two seem to agree on that,” said Bernard.
“Why did you think Mr. Harrison was disagreeable to his brother?” asked Miss Mount. “Has anyone else said so?”
“Who would be likely to say so, Miss Mount?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea, Mr. Bernard!”
Now Bernard studied her face intently and openly, answering her question in an absent voice:
“No one told me. Harrison was usually at home for dinner. Joel stayed away from that meal. Harrison was a brute. It’s in his face. From what you’ve said of Joel he would be the ideal victim for a bully. The deduction is a simple one.”