“Oh, well, Dick’s a man,” said Darrow bluntly. “Besides, he’s going to succeed.”
“I wish he didn’t feel so sure of it. You mustn’t think I’m afraid for him. He’s a man, and I want him to take his chances with other men; but I wish he didn’t care so much about what people think.”
“People?”
“Miss Verney, then: I suppose you know.”
Darrow paused in front of her. “Yes: he’s talked a good deal about her. You think she wants him to succeed?”
“At any price!”
He drew his brows together. “What do you call any price?”
“Well—herself, in this case, I believe.”
Darrow bent a puzzled stare on her. “You mean she attached that amount of importance to this competition?”
“She seems to regard it as symbolical: that’s what I gather. And I’m afraid she’s given him the same impression.”