hotels, frequented by fast men
who drove fast horses; he ministered to every coarse taste and vulgar
desire possessed by the man whose nature and graceless caprices he so
carefully studied. He did all this at his own expense, and at the same
time he kept his principal out of the clutches of gamblers and sharpers.
It was for his interest to be of actual use to the man whose desires he
aimed to gratify, and so to guard and shadow him that no deep harm would
come to him. It was for his interest to keep Mr. Belcher to himself,
while he gave him the gratifications that a coarse man living in the
country so naturally seeks among the opportunities and excitements of
the city.

There was one thing, however, that Mr. Talbot had never done. He had
never taken Mr. Belcher to his home. Mrs. Talbot did not wish to see
him, and Mr. Talbot did not wish to have her see him. He knew that Mr.
Belcher, after his business was completed, wanted something besides a
quiet dinner with women and children. His leanings were not toward
virtue, but toward safe and half-reputable vice; and exactly what he
wanted consistent with his safety as a business man, Mr. Talbot wished
to give him. To nurse his good-will, to make himself useful, and, as far
as possible, essential to the proprietor, and to keep him sound and make
him last, was Mr. Talbot's study and his most determined ambition.

Mr. Belcher was seated in a huge arm chair, with his back to the door
and his feet in another chair, when the second rap came, and Mr. Talbot,
with a radiant smile, entered.

"Well, Toll, my boy," said the proprietor, keeping his seat without
turning, and extending his left hand. "How are you? Glad to see you.
Come round to pay your respects to the Colonel, eh? How's business, and
how's your folks?"

Mr. Talbot was accustomed to this style of greeting from his principal,
and, responding heartily to it and the inquiries accompanying it, he
took a seat. With hat and cane in hand he sat on his little chair,
showing his handsome teeth, twirling his light mustache, and looking at
the proprietor with his keen gray eyes, his whole attitude and
physiognomy expressing the words as plainly as if he had spoken them:
"I'm your man; now, what are you up to?"

"Toll," said Mr. Belcher deliberately, "I'm going to surprise you."

"You usually do," responded the factor, laughing.

"I vow, I guess that's true! You fellows, without any blood, are apt to
get waked up when the old