“Not at all,” I answered hastily.  “The fact is, I had hoped to have a little chat with you when we had disposed of the ‘Thumbograph,’ so I can regard myself as combining a little business with a great deal of pleasure if I am allowed to accompany you.”

She gave me a little ironical bow as she inquired—­

“And, in short, I may take it that I am to be pumped?”

“Come, now,” I retorted.  “You have been plying the pump handle pretty vigorously yourself.  But that is not my meaning at all.  You see, we are absolute strangers to all the parties concerned in this case, which, of course, makes for an impartial estimate of their characters.  But, after all, knowledge is more useful to us than impartiality.  There is our client, for instance.  He impressed us both very favourably, I think; but he might have been a plausible rascal with the blackest of records.  Then you come and tell us that he is a gentleman of stainless character and we are at once on firmer ground.”

“I see,” said Miss Gibson thoughtfully; “and suppose that I or some one else had told you things that seemed to reflect on his character.  Would they have influenced you in your attitude towards him?”

“Only in this,” I replied; “that we should have made it our business to inquire into the truth of those reports and ascertain their origin.”

“That is what one should always do, I suppose,” said she, still with an air of deep thoughtfulness which encouraged me to inquire—­

“May I ask if anyone to your knowledge has ever said anything to Mr. Reuben’s disadvantage?”

She pondered for some time before replying, and kept her eyes bent pensively on the ground.  At length she said, not without some hesitation of manner—­

“It is a small thing and quite without any bearing on this affair.  But it has been a great trouble to me since it has to some extent put a barrier between Reuben and me; and we used to be such close friends.  And I have blamed myself for letting it influence me—­perhaps unjustly—­in my opinion of him.  I will tell you about it, though I expect you will think me very foolish.

“You must know, then, that Reuben and I used, until about six months ago, to be very much together, though we were only friends, you understand.  But we were on the footing of relatives, so there was nothing out of the way in it.  Reuben is a keen student of ancient and mediaeval art, in which I also am much interested, so we used to visit the museums and galleries together and get a great deal of pleasure from comparing our views and impressions of what we saw.

“About six months ago, Walter took me aside one day and, with a very serious face, asked me if there was any kind of understanding between Reuben and me.  I thought it rather impertinent of him, but nevertheless, I told him the truth, that Reuben and I were just friends and nothing more.

“‘If that is the case,’ said he, looking mighty grave, ’I would advise you not to be seen about with him quite so much.’