"So you have got everything done," he said. "I thought you would meet me somewhere here.
"This is Bob Repton, my employer's nephew, and future member of the firm. Treat him with all respect, and handle him gently. He is a desperate fellow, though he doesn't look it. This is the young gentleman I told you of, who made a night expedition and captured four burglars."
After this introduction, Bob was heartily shaken by the hand, all round; and the party proceeded on their way, the two girls holding their father's hand, the boys walking behind, with Bob, who was so surprised at the unexpected turn affairs had taken that, for a time, he almost lost his usual readiness of speech.
[Chapter 3]: An Unexpected Journey.
Hawthorne Cottage, Mr. Medlin's abode, was a pretty little house, standing detached in a good-sized garden, surrounded by a high wall.
"Here we are, mother," the clerk said, as he led the way into a cozy room, where tea was laid upon the table, while a bright fire blazed in the grate.
A very pleasant-faced lady, who did not look to Bob more than thirty--although she must have been four or five years older--greeted her husband affectionately.
"My dear," he said, "in the exuberance of your feelings, you forget that I have brought you home a visitor. This is Mr. Robert Repton. While he is resident in the house, he may be greeted as Bob. We had a race, and he runs faster than Jack; fifty yards, in four hundred and twenty, is the utmost I can give him."
"What nonsense you do talk, Will!" his wife said, laughing. "I am sure Master Repton must think you out of your mind."
"It is a very jolly way of being out of his mind, Mrs. Medlin. You don't know how pleased I am."