CHAPTER XXVIII.
The conduct of Mr. Wallingford, in regard to the estate which had fallen into his hands, rather puzzled Dewey. He had anticipated an early notification to remove, and, true to his character, had determined to annoy the new owner by vexatious delays. But after the passage of several weeks, in which came to him no intimation that he must give up the possession of his elegant home, he began to wonder what it could mean.
One day, not long after the conversation with Wallingford, mentioned in the last chapter, I met Mr. Dewey in the street. He stopped me and said, in half-sneering way,
“What of our honorable friend? Impatient, I suppose, to see the inside of the Allen House?”
“No,” I replied, “he has no wish to disturb you for the present.”
“Indeed! You expect me to believe all that, of course.”
There was a rudeness in his manner that was offensive; but I did not care to let him see that I noticed it.
“Why should you not believe my remark?” said I. “Is it a new thing in your experience with men to find an individual considerate of another?”
“What do you mean by considerate of another?”
My form of speech touched his pride.