ly enjoying, not
merely the long, silent drives over the country behind the fast horses,
but the pottering round the flower-garden with Mrs. Costell. He had been
reading up a little on flowers and gardening, and he was glad to swap
his theoretical for her practical knowledge. Candor compels the
statement that he enjoyed the long hours stretched on the turf, or
sitting idly on the veranda, puffing Mr. Costell's good Havanas.

Twice Mr. Bohlmann stopped at Peter's office of a Saturday and took him
out to stay over Sunday at his villa in one of the Oranges. The family
all liked Peter and did not hesitate to show it. Mr. Bohlmann told him:

"I sbend about dree dousand a year on law und law-babers. Misder Dummer
id does for me, but ven he does nod any longer it do, I gifts id you."

On the second visit Mrs. Bohlmann said:

"I tell my good man that with all the law-business he has, he must get a
lawyer for a son-in-law."

Peter had not heard Mrs. Bohlmann say to her husband the evening before,
as they were prinking for dinner:

"Have you told Mr. Stirling about your law business?"

Nor Mr. Bohlmann's prompt:

"Yah. I dells him der last dime."

Yet Peter wondered if there were any connection between the two
statements. He liked the two girls. They were nice-looking, sweet,
sincere women. He knew that Mr. Bohlmann was ranked as a millionaire
already, and was growing richer fast. Yet--Peter needed no blank walls.

During this summer, Peter had a little more law practice. A small grocer
in one of the tenements came to him about a row with his landlord. Peter
heard him through, and then said: "I don't see that you have any case;
but if you will leave it to me to do as I think best, I'll try if I can
do something," and the man agreeing, Peter went to see the landlord, a
retail tobacconist up-town.

"I don't think my client has any legal grounds," he told the landlord,
"but he thinks that he has, and the case does seem a little hard. Such
material repairs could not have been foreseen when the lease was made."

The tobacconist was rather obstinate at first. Finally he said, "I'll
tell you what I'll do. I'll contribute one hundred dollars towards the
repairs, if you'll make a tenant named Podds in the same building pay
his rent; or dispossess him if he doesn't, so that it shan't cost me
anything."

Peter agreed, and went to see the tenant in arrears. He found that the
man had a bad rheumatism and consequently was unable