Mrs. Parloe touched a bell, and soon Mary appeared, and went off to find the hired man. In the meantime, Nat fixed a reading stand so it could be used as a writing table, and brought out a stylographic pen his employer had given him.
Soon the hired man appeared. He was fairly well educated, and showed it in his face and manner.
"I am going to sign this document, John," said the old lady. "I wish you to witness my signature."
"Yes, ma'am."
Not without something of an effort, Mrs. Parloe affixed her signature to the paper. Then Nat handed the document to John, and told him where to place his own name in full, and also his address. In a minute the matter was concluded, and Mrs. Parloe told the hired man to go, and he did so.
"I trust Mr. Garwell has no further difficulty in this matter," said the old lady, as Nat stowed the document away in his pocket.
"He told me to say that he is going to put it through just as soon as he can," answered Nat. "I don't know anything more about it than that."
"Are you one of his clerks?"
"Yes, ma'am—his private clerk."
"You are rather young for such a position."