"What's the matter, Vinton. Has Mary Crilly captivated your senses?"
"I don't know who you allude to, but there is one of the prettiest girls I have seen for a long time."
"I know who you mean, though," said his companion laughingly, "and she is one of the nicest girls I know. Although she is simply a servant, she is both pretty, intelligent and industrious."
"Do you know her?" asked Vinton, both delighted and surprised.
"Certainly I do," answered his companion; "her name is Mary Crilly, and she is living with a family on Logan Place."
"Can't you introduce me?" inquired Vinton anxiously.
"Yes, if you want me to; that's my sister she is talking to now, they are fast friends, and Mary will probably spend the evening at our house. Come along, and perhaps you will lose your heart."
The apples had certainly fallen right into his lap, and fortune had favored him this time, if never before.
Stepping up with his friend, Vinton was soon made acquainted with the pretty young domestic, and in a short time afterward was walking by her side in the direction of his friend's house, where Mary was to spend the afternoon and evening.
Strange as it may appear, young Vinton, when not on duty, associated freely with his companions, not one of whom suspected the business in which he was engaged. They only knew that he was employed in an office "down town," and that frequently he was required to be absent from the city for weeks. In a large city, however, there is not the same inclination to inquire about the private affairs of one's neighbors, and hence he had been able, for prudential reasons, to avoid announcing his real occupation, and was not compelled to make a social hermit of himself because of his profession.