rs. If she liked pink silk dresses, I should buy
her some, but she likes black best. But I'd, take her to the big stores,
and tell her to look 'round and choose for herself. And then Dick----"

"Who is Dick?" asked Mr. Havisham.

"Dick is a boot-black," said his young; lordship, quite warming up in
his interest in plans so exciting. "He is one of the nicest boot-blacks
you ever knew. He stands at the corner of a street down-town. I've
known him for years. Once when I was very little, I was walking out
with Dearest, and she bought me a beautiful ball that bounced, and I
was carrying it and it bounced into the middle of the street where the
carriages and horses were, and I was so disappointed, I began to cry--I
was very little. I had kilts on. And Dick was blacking a man's shoes,
and he said 'Hello!' and he ran in between the horses and caught the
ball for me and wiped it off with his coat and gave it to me and said,
'It's all right, young un.' So Dearest admired him very much, and so did
I, and ever since then, when we go down-town, we talk to him. He says
'Hello!' and I say 'Hello!' and then we talk a little, and he tells me
how trade is. It's been bad lately."

"And what would you like to do for him?" inquired the lawyer, rubbing
his chin and smiling a queer smile.

"Well," said Lord Fauntleroy, settling himself in his chair with a
business air, "I'd buy Jake out."

"And who is Jake?" Mr. Havisham asked.

"He's Dick's partner, and he is the worst partner a fellow could have!
Dick says so. He isn't a credit to the business, and he isn't square. He
cheats, and that makes Dick mad. It would make you mad, you know, if you
were blacking boots as hard as you could, and being square all the time,
and your partner wasn't square at all. People like Dick, but they don't
like Jake, and so sometimes they don't come twice. So if I were rich,
I'd buy Jake out and get Dick a 'boss' sign--he says a 'boss' sign goes
a long way; and I'd get him some new clothes and new brushes, and start
him out fair. He says all he wants is to start out fair."

There could have been nothing more confiding and innocent than the way
in which his small lordship told his little story, quoting his friend
Dick's bits of slang in the most candid good faith. He seemed to feel
not a shade of a doubt that his elderly companion would be just as
interested as he was himself. And in truth Mr. Havisham was beginning
to be greatly interested; but perhaps not q