Looking up, he saw Alonzo Crane standing on the blink of the pond.
"Hello, Gerald!" he called out, "won't you give me a ride in your boat?"
"Certainly, Mr. Crane," and he rowed up to a little pier near where his new acquaintance was standing.
Alonzo Crane stepped into the boat and took a seat near the stern.
"This is a nice dory of yours," he said. "I always liked a rowboat, but I've been too busy in my business to use one. I don't think I've been in a boat for five years. Did my sister give it to you?"
"No," answered Gerald, hastily; "it was a gift from my father."
"I suppose, from what Melindy says, he left you most of his property?"
"She doesn't say that to me. She says it is all hers, and that I am entirely dependent upon her."
"Whew! Well, that beats all. Wasn't your father friendly to you?"
"I always found him the best of fathers, and that makes me wonder at his leaving me dependent upon Mrs. Lane."