"Georgie Parmenter. Do you know him? He's awfully nice."
"I know his father. May I proffer advice? Get that arrangement put down in writing. Then at the worst it'll be worth something to you."
Miss Pattie was not at all offended. She laughed merrily.
"They always said you were pretty wide-awake, and I believe it!" she observed. "He'll have ten thousand a year when his father dies."
"In the circumstances you mention he won't have a farthing a year till that event happens, I'm afraid, Pattie. A man of strong prejudices, old Sir George."
"Well, I'm sure I've got letters enough to——"
"That's all right. I shall watch the case with interest."
He yawned again and rose to his feet.
"Tom's pretty dull, isn't he?" asked Miss Pattie with a comical pout.
"Yes, Tom's pretty dull, certainly."