“Know him? I guess yes!” replied Mr. Newton. “He was mixed up in more than one boodle and land scandal with the aldermen, but we never could get enough evidence to convict him. Maybe we can this time, if he’s up to any of his tricks. Don’t forget to ask your mother all about his visit.”
“I’ll remember,” replied Larry. Then, as the City Hall was about to close for the day, they went back to the office.
CHAPTER VIII
THE AGENT’S PROPOSITION
That night Larry questioned his mother closely about the visit Mr. Perkins said he had paid her.
“I didn’t know his name,” said Mrs. Dexter, in telling her story. “He came to the door, and asked if you were my son. Then he said a reporter’s life was a hard one, and asked me if I didn’t think you had better get a position somewhere else. I thought he was a friend of yours, and when he said he could give you a good job in the real estate office I thought it would be a good thing, and said so.”
“Is that all, mother?”
“Well, pretty nearly. He did ask a few questions about your father.”
“What did he want to know?”
“Well, he wanted to know where we came from, where we used to live, and whether your father ever owned any land here in New York.”
“What did you tell him?”