At the dinner table Chester was introduced to Prof. Nugent.
“This is Chester Rand, the young artist who is illustrating my ethnological work, brother Nugent,” said Prof. Hazlitt.
“What—this boy?” Prof. Nugent exclaimed, in a tone of surprise.
“Yes. Boy as he is, he is a salaried contributor to The Phœnix.”
“You surprise me. How old are you, Mr. Rand?”
“Sixteen.”
“I suppose you began your art education early?”
Chester smiled.
“No, sir,” he answered. “Four months ago I was the boy in a country grocery store.”
“This is wonderful. I shall subscribe to The Phœnix before I go back to my Western home.”