her's curiosity was not only natural but proper. He could not
but know that in appearance and manner he was in marked contrast with
those whom the man had so far seen. He divined the fact that his coming
from a great city to settle down in a village town would furnish matter
for surprise and conjecture, and felt that it would be to his advantage
with the man who was to be his employer that he should be perfectly and
obviously frank upon all matters of his own which might be properly
mentioned. He had an instinctive feeling that Harum combined acuteness
and suspiciousness to a very large degree, and he had also a feeling
that the old man's confidence, once gained, would not be easily shaken.
So he told his hearer so much of his history as he thought pertinent,
and David listened without interruption or comment, save an occasional
"E-um'm."

"And here I am," John remarked in conclusion.

"Here you _be_, fer a fact," said David. "Wa'al, the's worse places 'n
Homeville--after you git used to it," he added in qualification. "I ben
back here a matter o' thirteen or fourteen year now, an' am gettin' to
feel my way 'round putty well; but not havin' ben in these parts fer
putty nigh thirty year, I found it ruther lonesome to start with, an' I
guess if it hadn't 'a' ben fer Polly I wouldn't 'a' stood it. But up to
the time I come back she hadn't never ben ten mile away f'm here in her
hull life, an' I couldn't budge her. But then," he remarked, "while
Homeville aint a metrop'lis, it's some a diff'rent place f'm what it
used to be--in some _ways_. Polly's my sister," he added by way of
explanation.

"Well," said John, with rather a rueful laugh, "if it has taken you all
that time to get used to it the outlook for me is not very encouraging,
I'm afraid."

"Wa'al," remarked Mr. Harum, "I'm apt to speak in par'bles sometimes. I
guess you'll git along after a spell, though it mayn't set fust rate on
your stomech till you git used to the diet. Say," he said after a
moment, "if you'd had a couple o' thousan' more, do you think you'd 'a'
stuck to the law bus'nis?"

"I'm sure I don't know," replied John, "but I am inclined to think not.
General Wolsey told me that if I were very anxious to go on with it he
would help me, but after what I told him he advised me to write to you."

"He did, did he?"

"Yes," said John, "and after what I had gone through I was not
altogether sorry to come away."

"Wa'al," said Mr. Harum thoughtfully,