"Yes," he said, returning to the subject which was evidently uppermost in his mind. "Yes, I did—er—lose my temper, perhaps. But—but it seems almost as if I had a—er—well, some excuse. You see—well, you see, Cap'n Kendrick, I didn't like it very much, the idea of Elizabeth's going over to Orham with—with you, you know."
Sears looked at him in surprise. "Why, she went with me because it was the simplest way to get there," he explained. "I was goin' anyhow, and Bradley had asked her to be there, too. So, it was natural enough that we should go together."
"Well—well, I don't see why she didn't tell me she was going."
"Perhaps she didn't think to tell you."
"Nonsense!... I mean.... Well, anyhow, if she had told me I should have looked out for her, of course. I could have hired a rig and driven her over."
"But she knew you were at work down at the store. She said that, didn't she? Seems to me I remember hearin' her say that she didn't want you to—to feel that you must take the afternoon off on her account."
The young man stirred impatiently. "That's foolishness," he declared. "She seems to think Bassett has a mortgage on my life. He hasn't, not by a long shot. I don't mean to keep his books much longer; I've got other things to attend to. My law is getting on pretty well."
"Glad to hear it, George."
"Yes. I shall read with Bradley for a while longer, of course, but after that—well, I don't know. I was talking with—with a man who has had a good deal of experience with lawyers—real city lawyers, not the one-horse sort—and he says the thing for an ambitious young fellow to do is to get into one of those city offices. Then you have a chance."
"Oh—I see. But isn't it kind of hard to get in, unless you have some acquaintance or influence?"