"He was a slight-built feller, rayther light-complected," was the reply. "An' han'some! I called him han'some, didn't you, Scotty?"
Scotty, thus appealed to, gave a profane assent. He had scarcely moved a muscle since he sat down, with his eyes fixed on Marian's fair, ever-changing face. Mrs. Sharpe, after a vain attempt to engage him in conversation, had quietly withdrawn, having no relish for being one of a quartette where two did all the talking.
"Was he—an—educated man?" inquired Marian hesitatingly, feeling in a vague way that the question might offend Jack.
"Yes, he war," replied that worthy in a contemplative tone. "When he war drunk I hev hearn him talkin' a lot of stuff like po'try. Thar's a pile of books in my cabin now that he used ter read consid'able. I can't make head nor tail to 'em. P'r'aps you might."
"I would like to see them," said Marian eagerly.
Jack nodded, and a pause ensued. At length Scotty remarked that the "old man," meaning Cutey, was "reyther late in lightin' up," at which Jack arose and bade the stranger "good night."
Marian put out her hand, saying, "We will be good friends, I hope."
Circus Jack took it by the finger tips cautiously, careful not to hurt it with his horny fingers.
"I'll do ary thing in the world fur yer, madam," he replied earnestly and ingenuously.
"There was one thing I wished to ask," she said, "though it may be a foolish question. Did you ever notice any—ring—that he wore or—carried?"