_he_ want?"

"To read Greek with me."

"Greek! What has put that into his head? Bob. Satterthwaite!"
-- and Rufus threw back his head and laughed in a great state
of amusement. "What has put _that_ into his head? -- eh,
Winthrop?"

"I don't inquire. It puts money in my pocket."

"Not much," said Rufus.

"No, not much."

"What's the reason, do you think? What moves _him_ to woo the
Muses? -- I'm afraid it's because he thinks it is a preliminary
wooing he must go through before he can be successful in
another quarter."

And again Rufus laughed, in high delight.

"I have no business with that," said Winthrop.

"What are you doing now?"

"Studying law."

"Stop."

"What for?"

"To talk to me."

"It seems to me I have been doing that for some time," said
Winthrop, without looking off his book.

"But I haven't begun. Winthrop, -- I have a great mind to give
up this engineering business."

"To do what instead?"

"Why -- you know I shall have some money coming to me -- quite a
little sum; -- Mr. Haye has very kindly offered to put me in
the way of laying it out to good advantage, and eventually of
getting into another line of occupation which would at the
same time be more lucrative, less laborious, and would keep me
in the regions of civilization. -- And perhaps -- Winthrop --
something might follow thereupon, --"

"What?" said his brother looking up.

"Something --"

"More definite in your purpose than in your speech."

"Not my purpose, exactly," said Rufus, -- "but in possibility."

"There is no peg in possibility for a wise man to hang his cap
on."

"Perhaps I am not a wise man," said Rufus, with a very queer
face, as if his mind were giving an askance look at the
subject.

"That's a supposititious case I shall leave you to deal with."

"Why it's the very sort of case it's your business to deal
with," said Rufus. "If the world was full of wise men you'd
stand a pretty fair chance of starving, Governor. But
seriously, -- do you think it is unbecoming a wise man to take
any lawful means of keeping out of the way of that same devil
of starvation?"

"Do you mean to say that you are in any danger of it?" said
Winthrop looking up again.

"Why no, -- not exactly; taking the words literally. But one
may starve and yet have enough to eat."

"If one refuses one's food."

"If one don't! I tell you, I have been starving for these two
years past. It is not living, to make to-day only feed to