“I’ll speak to him Monday,” thought Tom, but, when Monday came, Mr. Keen had to go out of town, and was away for several days.
There came several dull days in the law office, when, for hours at a time Tom would sit at the switchboard and not a call would come in. This was rather tiresome, but he had to remain on duty, as there was no telling when he would have to make the connections.
“I wish I could read,” he thought. “Guess I’ll ask one of the clerks if there’s any objection.”
Accordingly, he broached the matter to the young fellow who relieved him at the board during the noon hour.
“Sure you can read, if you want to,” said the youth. “Why don’t you start in to read law? This is a good chance. I used to have your job, and one day I was reading a book of adventures. Mr. Boise saw me, and wanted to know what it was. I told him, and I thought he’d object, but he suggested that I start to study law in my spare moments. I did, beginning on a simple book, and finally he made me a clerk. That gave me more time, and I’ll be ready for the bar examinations in another year.”
“I never thought of that,” said Tom. “I believe I would like to know something of law.”
“I’ll lend you a book to start on,” said the clerk kindly, and he handed Tom a volume that did not look very attractive. But Tom was not easily discouraged, and he began it. He found it simpler than he had expected, and he became quite interested in it.
“What have you there?” asked Mr. Boise of him, one afternoon, as the senior partner came in from a late lunch. “Is it the life of ‘Fearless Frank, the Boy Scout,’ or ‘Death-Dealing Dick’? Oh, there’s no objection to you reading,” he added hastily, as Tom started up in some confusion.
As he did so the book fell down, open, so that the title could be read.
“Ah, the law primer,” remarked Mr. Boise. “I am glad to see this, Tom. Not that there is anything wrong in reading a good book of adventure, for I like that sort of a story myself, once in a while, but they are not good as a steady diet. When you finish that book I will loan you another.”