"Well, sir," said Rollo; "who shall be the umpire?"
"Mr. Hall," said his father. "He is down in the dining room now, taking tea."
Mr. Hall was a lawyer, an acquaintance of Mr. Holiday's, whom he had accidentally met at Geneva.
"He is a lawyer," said Mr. Holiday, "and he will be a very good umpire."
"Is it a law question?" asked Rollo.
"Not exactly a law question," said Mr. Holiday, "but all such questions require for an umpire a man who is accustomed to think precisely. That is their very business. It is true that there are a great many other men besides lawyers who think precisely; and there are some lawyers who think and reason very loosely, and come to hasty and incorrect conclusions. Still, you are more likely to get a good opinion on such a subject from a lawyer than from other men taken at random. So, if you please, you may go down and state the question to Mr. Hall, and I will abide by his decision."
"Well, sir," said Rollo, "I will."
"Only," said Mr. Holiday, "you must state the question fairly. Boys generally, when they go to state a question of this kind in which they are interested, state it very unfairly."
"How, for instance?" asked Rollo.