His voice was
not very good, having in it a kind of unpleasant rattle; but he
managed it rather skillfully in conversation, and you soon, ceased
to notice the peculiarity.
Ralph lived in New York, where he had recently been advanced to the
position of fourth partner in a dry goods jobbing house, with a
small percentage on the net profits. Judging from the air with which
he spoke of his firm's operations, and his relation to the business,
you might have inferred that he was senior instead of junior
partner, and that the whole weight of the concern rested on his
shoulders.
Judge Bigelow, a solid man, and from professional habit skilled in
reading character, was, singularly enough, quite carried away with
his smart nephew, and really believed his report of himself.
Prospectively, he saw him a merchant prince, surrounded by palatial
splendors.
Our acquaintance was as yet but slight, so we only nodded in
passing. As we were in the neighborhood of Squire Floyd's pleasant
cottage, I was naturally curious, under the circumstances, to see
whether the young man was going to make a visit at so early an hour;
and I managed to keep long enough in sight to have this matter
determined.
Pages:
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79