"Then you are not naturally a farmer?"
"No, sir."
"Is your father living?"
"Yes, sir; but he is laid up with rheumatism, so he cannot work at present. He is a carpenter."
"Indeed! I was a carpenter when I was a young man."
"I thought Mrs. Shalley said you were a steamboat owner."
"I am, now. I gave up carpentering to go into the freight business. I made money, and then bought a small freight boat. Then I branched out, and now own a steamboat running up and down the Hudson River, and I also own several steam tugs."
"Do you own the one that got into trouble the other day?"
"No, a friend of mine owns that—that is how my wife and little girl happened to be on board. I am——" Mr. Shalley stopped short as a form appeared in the doorway behind him.
"This is my mother. Mother, this is Mr. Shalley, the steamboat owner."