“Oh, I am willing to pay for it. I told them so. If the old man——”
“The old man!”
“Yes, the lawyer—if he sends you a note about it, just pay it to him and charge to me.”
“How can I be sure that I shall be repaid?” inquired Nathan cautiously.
“Oh, I’ll see you paid. I’ve got twenty-five dollars in my pocket-book.”
Nathan was relieved. He had no fancy for running any pecuniary risk.
“Still,” he said, “I regret this occurrence.”
“You must be very quarrelsome,” said Mrs. Middleton, who didn’t like Tom, and would have showed it much more plainly if he had been a poor boy.
“I suppose I am,” said Tom frankly. “They used to call me the bully of the village, but I never tyrannized over weak boys. It’s only the upstarts and pretenders that I interfere with. Those boys I saw to-night need a few lessons in good manners.”
“My young friend, I fear you quite mistake their character. They stand high socially—very high—indeed I may say they belong to one of the first families, if not our very first. I had hoped you would find them congenial companions.”