"
"How did he seem when you knew him?" asked Ida, hesitating, because
conscious that the question was vaguely expressed and might not be
understood.
"He was a quiet, sober chap, workin' early and late," answered Jake,
who, rough as he was, comprehended the drift of her questions. "He
wasn't exactly pop'lar with the boys, because he wouldn't drink with
'em, and that made them think he was proud, or grudged the expense."
"They were very greatly mistaken," said Ida hastily.
"We found that out," said the miner. "A young chap fell sick; he was
a newcomer and had neither friends nor money, and was pretty bad
off. Dewey sat up with him night after night, and gave him fifty
dollars when he got well to help him back to 'Frisco. You see, his
sickness made him tired of the mines."
"That was like Richard," said Ida softly. "He was always
kind-hearted."
"After that," continued Jake, "none of us had a word to say agin'
him. We knowed him better, and we liked him for his kindness to that
young chap."
If Jake Bradley had sought to commend himself to Ida Sinclair, he
could not have found a better or more effectual way than by praising
her lover. She became more cordial at once, and better satisfied
with the arrangement she had formed to send off the ex-miner in
Ben's company in search of her lover.
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