He had a certain awe of her.

He divined in her a strength of character which made her his equal; it might well be, his superior.

Take, for instance, the question of the life she was at present leading.

In the case of an ordinary pretty and good-natured girl falling in his way as Ida Starr had done, he would have exerted whatever influence he might acquire over her to persuade her into better paths.

Any such direct guidance was, he felt, out of the question here.