"Do you like him?"
"I don't consider him a fit associate for me. He is a common newsboy."
"Does Aunt Eliza know that?"
"Yes; it makes no difference to her. She's infatuated with him."
"I wish she were infatuated with me. I shall have to ask Luke his secret. Aunt Eliza doesn't prefer him to you, does she?"
"I have no doubt she does. She's very queer about some things."
"Harold," said his mother, solicitously, "I don't think you pay Aunt Eliza enough attention. Old persons, you know, like to receive courtesies."
"I treat her politely, don't I?" asked Harold, aggressively. "I can't be dancing attendance upon her and flattering her all the time."
"From what I have seen of Luke Walton," thought Warner Powell, "I should decidedly prefer him to this nephew of mine. He seems conceited and disagreeable. Of course, it won't do to tell Louisa that, for she evidently admires her graceless cub, because he is hers."
"Are you intimate with this Luke?" asked Warner, mischievously.