Ezra Little was rather disgusted when he heard that Seth Lawton had been the earl's guest.
"You ought to have prevented it, Scott," he said. "What will the earl think of us when such a homely old fellow is introduced as a cousin?"
"Cousin Seth and the earl are great friends," replied Scott.
"Humph! I suppose he felt obliged to be polite to him. Seth is a mere clodhopper."
He would have been surprised to learn that the earl rated the "clodhopper" higher than himself.
CHAPTER XXXIV. MR. BABCOCK'S INVENTION.
From this time forth Ezra Little began to pay more attention to his poor relation. Scott's social and business success had surprised him. He was compelled, though reluctantly, to consider him a young man of promise.
He had no idea, however, how successful Scott was, and would have been very much amazed to learn the extent of his income.