The gentleman had lain down his paper and was engaged in eating his luncheon. As he spoke he glanced at Will with a smile, which the boy returned, feeling rather ashamed of his depression because of so trivial a matter.
“Something quite disagreeable, as you observe, sir,” he answered.
“You are an American?”
“Yes, sir. And you?”
A shadow crossed the gentleman’s face.
“Formerly I lived in the States. But I am quite English, now, although I have never ceased to love my native land. That is why I ventured to speak to a young man who is so evidently an American. Can I be of any assistance to you?”
Will laughed.
“To be frank with you, my tribulation is caused merely by a lack of a dress suit,” said he. “I must dine with a lady—a very ‘swell’ lady, sir—tonight, and I possess only the clothes you behold.”
“You have lost your baggage?”
“No, sir; I never have owned a dress suit. Indeed, these are the best clothes I have, and had not the lady asked me to dine with her I should have considered them equal to all my requirements.”