"You know Brandon Bates, don't you, Dean?" said Kirby.
"Yes, sir."
"Do you like him?"
"I don't think any one in the village likes him."
"How about his father? is he popular?"
"He is better liked than his son."
"The fact is," resumed Kirby, "the captain's boy is an impudent cub. He was insolent to me. I could have tweaked his nose with pleasure."
"There seems to be one point on which Mr. Kirby and I agree," thought Dean. But upon the whole it did not seem to him that he liked Kirby any better than Brandon Bates. Brandon had unpleasant manners, but it was clear that Kirby was a professional thief.
"When is the captain coming West?" asked Dan.