"Good-morning, Mr. Conrad," said Mrs. Drummond. "I hope you slept well."
"Very well, thank you," said Walter.
Mr. Drummond here entered from the street, having been for an hour in the store opposite.
"Good-morning, Mr. Conrad," he said. "I trust you rested well, and can do justice to our humble repast. I have been in the store an hour. We who are not endowed with the gifts of Fortune must be early astir."
Joshua tried to suppress a laugh, but not with entire success.
"What are you snickering at, Joshua?" demanded Mr. Drummond, in a displeased tone. "I don't know what Mr. Conrad will think of your manners."
"You'll excuse them, won't you, Mr. Conrad?" asked Joshua, beginning to chuckle again.
Knowing very well the source of his amusement, and feeling his own position to be an awkward one, Walter was all the more resolved to impart to Mr. Drummond without delay the posture of his father's affairs. He did not answer Joshua's appeal.
"I don't see what has got into you this morning, Joshua," said Mrs. Drummond, mildly. "You seem in very good spirits."
"So I am," said Joshua, with a grin.