“Not exactly,” he said, after a pause.  “He’s been sick a long time and his mind is—­well, I think it has been somewhat affected.  Did he—­ He didn’t talk to you about himself, did he?”

“What do you want to know for?”

“Oh, he appeared rather excited, and—­”

“Yes; I noticed that.”  She laughed mischievously.

Jim frowned.  “Come, Ellen, quit this nonsense!  What did he say to you?”

“If you mean Mr. Orr—­”

He turned his eyes from the road to stare at her for an instant.

“Did he tell you his name was Orr?” he asked sharply.

It was Ellen’s turn to stare.

“Why, if he is Miss Orr’s father—­” she began.

“Oh, of course,” said Jim hurriedly.  “I was just wondering if he had introduced himself.”

Ellen was silent.  She was convinced that there was some mystery about the pale old man.

“He said a lot of awfully queer things to me,” she admitted, after a pause during which Jim turned the car into a side road....  “I thought you were going to the village.”

“This will take us to the village—­give you a longer ride, Ellen.  I’ll take you home afterwards.”

“After what?”

“Why, after we’ve got the mail—­or whatever you want.”

“Don’t you think Miss Orr and that queer old Mr. ——­ If his name isn’t Orr, Jim, what is it?” She shot a quick glance at him.

“Good Lord!” muttered Jim profanely.

He drew the car up at the side of the road and stopped it.

“What are you going to do?” inquired Ellen, in some alarm.  “Won’t it go?”

“When I get ready,” said Jim.

He turned and faced her squarely: 

“We’ll have this out, before we go a foot further!  I won’t have the whole town talking,” he said savagely.

Ellen said nothing.  She was rather angry.

“The devil!” cried Jim Dodge.  “What’s the matter with you, Ellen?”

“With me?” she repeated.

“Yes.  Why can’t you talk?”

She shrugged her shoulders.  “I want to go home,” she said.

He seized her roughly by the wrist.  “Ellen,” he said, “I believe you know more than you are willing to tell.”  He stared down into her eyes.  “What did he say to you, anyway?”

“Who?”

“You know well enough.  The old man.  Lord, what a mess!”

“Please let me go, Jim,” said Ellen.  “Now look here, I know absolutely nothing except what I have told you, and I want to go home.”

"Ellen!"

“Well?”

“Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course I can, Jim!” She met his dark gaze squarely.

“Well, rather than have you spreading a piece of damnable gossip over the village—­ Of course you would have told everybody.”

“You mean about meeting the old man?  But won’t everybody know?  If he goes out and talks to people as he did to me?”