We had taken a pleasant house on one of the broad avenues to the south beyond the smoke bank, with a bit of a garden and a few trees. When we got back from New York we found supper waiting for us, roses on the table, a bottle of wine ready to open, and on the sideboard a box of cigars.
"The hand of Jane!" remarked my wife, as she rearranged the flowers and put the roses on the mantelpiece.
"The hand of Jane?" I repeated dully. "You mean Mrs. Dround did it all?"
"Yes, of course; it reaches everywhere."
And Sarah did not look as much pleased as I expected.
CHAPTER XII
AN HONORABLE MERCHANT
Mr. Dround's little weakness—An unpleasant occurrence—To the best of one's knowledge—"Kissing goes by favor," and other things—Switch-tracks and rebates—Carmichael talks—An item of charity—Our manager goes over to the enemy—I am offered his place—A little talk on the moral side—The dilemma of the righteous—What is, is good enough for me
"Mr. Dround seems to be doing a good deal of talking for the benefit of his neighbors," Slocum observed one day when I was in his office.