dog (not
wishing to degrade him by the comparison) waiting with longing eyes
while his master eats his morning mutton-chop.

"Fletcher," said Sandford, "I'll make this an object to you. I don't
mind giving you five dollars, as soon as we have Papyrus's indorsement
on the note. And, speaking of the indorsement, let him sign his name,
and then bring me the note. I wish to put on the name of the person to
whose order it is to be payable."

"Then it is on the account"--

"Of whom it may concern," broke in Sandford. "Don't stand with your
mouth open. That is my affair."

"But if you pay me only five dollars"--

"That is so much clear gain to you. Do you suppose that we--my backer
and I--shall run the risk for nothing? Good morning! Attend to your own
affairs at Danforth's properly. Don't burn your fingers with any new
experiments. There's a crash coming and stocks will fall. Good morning!"

The Secretary looked relieved when Fletcher closed the door, and
speedily dispatched the necessary letters and orders for the Company.
Then leaving the affairs of the Vortex in the hands of his clerk, he
strolled out for his usual lunch. Wherever he walked, he was met with
smiles and greetings of respect. He turned into an alley, entered an
eating-house, and took his place at a table; he ordered and ate his
lunch, and then left, with a nod towards the counter. The landlord, who
began on credit, expected no pay from the man who procured him money
accommodations. No waiter had ever seen a sixpence from his purse. How
should a man be expected to pay, who spent his substance and his time so
freely in charity?

CHAPTER III.

CONTAINING SOME CONFESSIONS NOT INTENDED FOR THE PUBLIC EAR.

Miss Marcia Sandford, after breakfast, was sitting in her chamber with
her widowed sister-in-law, who had come to spend a few months with her
late husband's family. The widow no longer wore the roses of youth, but
was yet on friendly terms with Time; indeed, so quietly had their annual
settlements passed off, that it would have puzzled any one not in their
confidence to tell how the account stood. The simplicity of her dress,
the chastened look, and the sobriety of phrase, of which her recent
affliction was the cause, might have hinted at thirty-five; but when her
clear, placid eye was turned upon you, and you saw the delicate flush
deepening or vanishing upon a smooth cheek, and noted the changeful
expression that hovered like a spiritual presence