"I belong to the class that produces, and we are ground between the upper and the nether millstones. Do you see?"
Eleanor expressed her assent.
"The fire, of course, cost us a lot."
"It was set on fire," interrupted his daughter. "I know it."
"Well, I don't know—possibly. It looks so. Anyhow, it caught us at the top notch, and while the insurance amounts to something, the actual loss was incalculable. Then came the trouble with the bank. So long as I was there they knew they could not go beyond the law. So Canter and the others got together, and I got out, and, of course——"
"I know," said his daughter.
"They asked me to remain, but—I preferred to be free."
"So do I."
"I had an overture to-day from the Canters," said Mr. Leigh, after a moment of reflection. "I do not quite know what it means, but I think I do."
"What was it?" Eleanor looked down with her face slightly averted.