"Do you think I would be seen in such low company?"
"Why not? I'm a gentleman. If you are a gentleman, then I am, too."
"What do you mean? What have I to do with you?"
"A good deal," said the stranger. "I am your uncle!"
Nicholas gasped for breath. What! this low, common person his uncle? He would not credit it.
"That's a lie!" he said. "You are trying to humbug me."
"Not so fast, nephew Nicholas," said Dick. "You can't alter facts. I'm your mother's brother. Didn't she ever tell you of your Uncle Dick?"
Uncle Dick! Nicholas did remember that his mother had named such a person, and the uncomfortable apprehension dawned upon him that the stranger's claim was well founded, after all. He kept silent, but flared at the stranger in a state of mental disturbance.
"I see you've heard of me," said Dick, with a short laugh. "Is your mother at home?"
"I believe so," said Nicholas, sullenly.