“No, no! Not that. She said she knew you’d be glad of the match.”
“Glad of—the match!” Van stared at his friend, with growing suspicion in his mind.
“Yes, you dear old Van! I’m engaged, and just the happiest of—”
“Engaged?” and Van seized Andy by the shoulders with both hands.
“Yes, all fixed! And Rose Wood is just the dearest, best girl after all! I’d never have known happiness but for her!”
Van Morris turned the speaker full to the firelight, and stared hard in his face.
“I wouldn’t have believed it, Andy,” he said, contemptuously. “You have come here drunk again!”
“No, indeed! I have pledged my word to her never to touch a drop!” protested Andy, with imperturbable good nature. “And, Van, she has accepted me.”
“She?”