“And now tell me, Mr. Grayson, what most of them do—that gentleman, for instance, who is talking to the old man in the velvet cap.”
“That is General Norton, one of our most distinguished engineers. He is Consulting Engineer in the Croton Aqueduct Department, and his opinion is sought all over the country. He started life as a tow-boy on the Erie Canal, and when he was your age he was keeping tally of dump-cars from a cut on the Pennsylvania Railroad.”
Jack looked at the General in wonderment, but he was too much interested in the other persons about him to pursue the inquiry any further.
“And the man next to him—the one with his hand to his head?”
“I don't recall him, but the Major may.”
“That is Professor Hastings of Yale,” I replied—“perhaps the most eminent chemist in this or any other country.”
“And what did he do when he was a boy?” asked young Breen.
“Made pills, I expect, and washed out test tubes and retorts,” interrupted Peter, with a look on his face as if the poor professor were more to be pitied than commended.
“Did any of them dig?” asked the boy.
“What kind of digging?” inquired Peter.