The next morning on his way down town, Richard Hunter stepped into a retail bookstore on Broadway. As he entered, a boy, if indeed it be allowable to apply such a term to a personage so consequential in his manners, came forward.
"What, Roswell Crawford, are you here?" asked Richard Hunter, in surprise.
Roswell, who has already been mentioned in this story, and who figured considerably in previous volumes of this series, answered rather stiffly to this salutation.
"Yes," he said. "I am here for a short time. I came in to oblige Mr. Baker."
"You were always very obliging, Roswell," said Richard, good-humoredly.
Roswell did not appear to appreciate this compliment. He probably thought it savored of irony.
"Do you want to buy anything this morning?" he said, shortly.
"Yes; I would like to look at some books of fairy stories."
"For your own reading, I suppose," said Roswell.