et. The Will he read with great
attention, glanced at the Bible, pondered awhile, and then said--

"'I suppose you guess that this was a piece of private business
between Amos Trenoweth, deceased, and my father, also deceased.
I tell ye frankly, Mr. Trenoweth--by the way, what is your Christian
name, eh? So you are the Ezekiel mentioned in the Will? Are you a
bold man, eh? Well, you look it, at any rate. As I was saying, I
tell ye frankly it is not the sort of business I would have
undertaken myself. But my father had his crotchets--which is odd, as
I'm supposed to resemble him--he had his crotchets, and among them
was an affection for your father. It may have been based on profit,
for your father, Mr. Trenoweth, as far as I have heard, was not
exactly a lovable man, if ye'll excuse me. If it was, I've never
seen those profits, and I've examined my father's papers pretty
thoroughly. But this is a family matter, and had better not be
discussed in office hours. Can you dine with me this evening?'

"I replied that I should be greatly obliged; but, in the first place,
as a stranger, would count it a favour to be told of some decent
lodging for such time as I should be detained in Bombay.

"Mr. Sanderson pondered again, tapped the floor with his foot, pulled
his short crop of sandy whiskers, and said--

"'Our business may detain us, for aught I know, long into the night,
Mr. Trenoweth. Ye would be doing me a favour if ye stayed with me
for a day or two. I am a bachelor, and live as one. So much the
better, eh? If you will get your boxes sent up to Craigie Cottage,
Malabar Hill--any one will tell ye where Elihu Sanderson lives--I
will try to make you comfortable. You are wondering at the name
'Craigie Cottage'--another crotchet of my father's. He was a
Scotchman, I'd have ye know; and so am I, for that matter, though I
never saw Scotch soil, being that prodigious phenomenon, a British
child successfully reared in India. But I hope to set foot there
some day, please God! Save us! how I am talking, and in office
hours, too! Good-bye, Mr. Trenoweth, and'--once more his eyes
twinkled as I thanked him and made for the door--'I would to Heaven
ye were a Scotchman!'

"Although verily broiled with the heat, I spent the rest of the day
in sauntering about the city and drinking in its marvels until the
time when I was due to present myself at Craigie Cottage. Following
the men who carried my box, I discovered