And is he to walk in here, and say, 'I 'm first for service; I don't
care whether you like it or not'?"

"He 's listening to you all this while,--are you aware of that?"
whispered Vance; on which the other grew very red in the face, took
off his spectacles, wiped and replaced them, and then, addressing Tony,
said, "Go away, sir,--leave the Office."

"Mr. Brand means that you need not wait," said Vance, approaching Tony.
"All you have to do is to leave your town address here, in the outer
office, and come up once or twice a day."

"And as to this examination," said Tony, stoutly, "it's better I should
say once for all--"

"It's better you should just say nothing at all," said the other,
good-humoredly, as he slipped his arm inside of Tony's and led him away.
"You see," whispered he, "my friend Mr. Brand is hasty."

"I should think he _is_ hasty!" growled out Tony.

"But he is a warm-hearted--a truly warm-hearted man--"

"Warm enough he seems."

"When you know him better--"

"I don't want to know him better!" burst in Tony. "I got into a scrape
already with just such another: he was collector for the port of Derry,
and I threw him out of the window, and all the blame was laid upon me!"

"Well, that certainly was hard," said Vance, with a droll twinkle of his
eye,--"I call that very hard."

"So do I, after the language he used to me, saying all the while,
'I'm no duellist,--I'm not for a saw-pit, with coffee and pistols for
two,'--and all that vulgar slang about murder and such-like."

"And was he much hurt?"

"No; not much. It was only his collar-bone and one rib, I think,--I
forget now,--for I had to go over to Skye, and stay there a good part of
the summer."

"Mr. Blount, take down this gentleman's address, and show him where
he is to wait; and don't--" Here he lowered his voice, so that the
remainder of his speech was inaudible to Tony.

"Not if I can help it, sir," replied Blount; "but if you knew how hard
it is!"

There was something almost piteous in the youth's face as he spoke; and,
indeed, Vance seemed moved to a certain degree of compassion as he said,
"Well, well, do your best,--do your best, none can do more."

"It's two o'clock. I 'll go out and have a cigar with you, if you don't
mind," said Blount to Tony. "We 're quite close to the Park here; and a
little fresh air will do me good."

"Come along," said Tony, who, out of compassion, had already a sort of
half-liking for the much-suffe