"'Suppose he ain't worth the price?'
"'They say he's a splendid fellow,' says Sam.
"'You let me investigate him,' I says, 'an' if he's really worth the price I'll help ye to pay it.'
"Sam said that was fair, an' thanked me for the offer, an' gave me the young man's address. He was a Russian by the name of Alexander Rolanoff, an' Sam insisted that he belonged to a very old family of large means an' noble blood, an' said that the young man would be in Pointview that summer. I wrote to the mayor of the city in which he was said to live, but got no answer.
"Alexander came. He was a costly an' beautiful young man, about thirty years old, with red cheeks an' curly hair an' polished finger-nails, an' wrote poetry. Sometimes ye meet a man that excites yer worst suspicions. Your right hand no sooner lets go o' his than it slides down into your pocket to see if anything has happened; or maybe you take the arm o' yer wife or yer daughter an' walk away. Aleck leaned a little in both directions. But, sir, Sam didn't care to know my opinion of him. Never said another word to me on the subject, but came again to ask about the money.
"'Look here, Sam,' I says. 'You tell Lizzie that I want to have a talk with her at four o'clock in this office? If she really wants to buy this man, I'll see what can be done about it.'
"'All right, you talk with her,' says he, an' went out.
"In a few minutes Dan showed up.
"'Have you seen Lizzie?' says I.
"'Not to speak to her,' says Dan. 'Looks fine, doesn't she?'