“Well, that's all I want, and any d——— fool could do that. You may begin Monday. Goodnight.”
The thoughts of the Commodore went straight to their mark and his words followed them.
He put his right hand on the arm of Mr. McCarthy. I saw then how the grip of the oar had stiffened his fingers.
“Young man, I'll think it over,” said he. “You go home and don't talk too much. What ye don't say will never do any harm. I make it a rule of my life never to talk of anything I'm going to do until I've done it.”
We left the house and walked slowly in the direction of Broadway.
“He'll do it,” said the hand-made gentleman. “He caught my point on the fly. His brain is quick as lightning, and he had the whole thing in a second. He let me go on to make sure that I knew what I was talking about.”
“Suppose he does what you want him to, how are you going to make by it?” I asked.
“I'll trust him for that,” said Mr. McCarthy. “However, I can take care o' myself. As soon as he makes a move I'll buy stock, that's what I'll do. James Henry McCarthy will not be left behind.” After a moment's reflection, he added: “I'm surprised at one thing: he swears like a trooper. And did you see that he came out in a pair of carpet slippers?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“He would have shocked Lord Chesterfield,”