She knew enough of baseball slang to catch his meaning and she smiled as she asked, "Why don't you go back?"
"Simply because I couldn't stand the chinning I'd get from my classmates."
"Can't you go on with your studies here and pass your examination?"
"I might do that if I could get a job that would pay me my board and leave me a little time to study."
She looked up at him with smiling archness. "Why not drive an automobile? You could carry your books around under the seat and study while waiting outside the shops or the theaters."
"Good idea!" he exclaimed, responding to her humor. "I'm pretty handy with the machine. One of my friends up at Winona had one. I hope you own a car." He said this with intent to indicate his growing desire to be near her.
Mrs. Joyce came over at this moment to inquire what they were so jolly about.
Leo answered: "I was just suggesting that Mr. Ollnee become a chauffeur. He could go on with his studies--"
"Capital!" exclaimed Mr. Joyce. "The man I have is liable to drink and very crusty in the bargain. You may have his place."
"I'm afraid I wouldn't do," he responded. "I might get crusty, too."
"I hope you are not liable to drink," said Leo.
"No, sarsaparilla is my only tipple. But this is all Miss Wood's joke," he explained.
"I'm not joking, indeed I'm not," the girl retorted. "I don't know of any skill that is more in demand just now than that of a chauffeur. I know of one who is studying the piano. I don't see any reason why Mr. Ollnee should not take it up temporarily. It's perfectly honorable. Witness Bernard Shaw's play."
"Oh, I'm not looking down on any job just now," he disclaimed. "All I ask is a chance to earn a living while I'm finding out what my best points are."
Mr. Wood beckoned and Leo rose to meet him. "We must be off," he said.
Victor bade Leo good-night with such feeling of intimacy and friendliness as he had not hoped to attain for any one connected with Mrs. Joyce. There was something in the pressure of her hand and in the sympathetic tone of her voice at the last that he remembered with keen pleasure.
Mr. Carew was deep in conversation with Mrs. Ollnee, and Victor drew near with intent to know what was being said. The lawyer was very gentle, very respectful, but Mrs. Ollnee was undergoing a thorough investigation at his hands. He represented the calm, slow-spoken, but very keen inquisitor, and the psychic was already feeling the force of his delicate, yet penetrating sarcasm.