“You must come and stop with me. We will talk over old times.”

“Thank you; it would be much pleasanter for me, of course. In fact, I came to Wrayburn on account of your being here. I happened to be in the neighborhood, and I said 'I must see Leech at any rate.' So here I am. Fortune has smiled on you, I hope?”

“Yes,” said the squire, “I am comfortable.”

“The boy that guided me here said that you were the richest man in Wrayburn.”

“I believe I am,” said the squire, complacently. “I am worth somewhere about the same as you.”

“That's fair; it is more for you than for me. It costs me ten thousand dollars a year to live in the city.”

“Does it?” inquired Leech.

“I've sometimes thought of going to the country, where my expenses would be much less; but, after all, you can make much more money in the city.”

“You think there are opportunities of making money rapidly there?” asked his companion.

“No doubt of it.”