"Where is he?"
"He went to New York."
"Is he at work there?"
"No, he is travelling."
"Travelling? What do you mean?"
"Uncle Jacob has sent him off on some mission. He is at Harrisburg, I believe."
"That is very strange!" remarked the squire, arching his eyebrows. "What possible mission can Jacob have for the boy?"
"He doesn't write particulars; but his expenses are paid."
"I don't see how Jacob Marlowe, with his paltry twelve dollars a week, can make such arrangements."
"Nor I; but probably Uncle Jacob has interested his employer in Bert."