“Oh, yes,” said he. “She is in this hotel.”
“It is really an extraordinary pleasure!” exclaimed the other. “I did not think I knew a soul in New York.”
“You are visiting here?” asked Montague.
“From the West,” said the Colonel.
“It is curious how things follow out,” he continued, after a pause. “I was thinking about your father only this very day. I had a proposal from someone who wanted to buy some stock that I have—in the Northern Mississippi Railroad.”
Montague gave a start. “You don't mean it!” he said.
“Yes,” said the other. “Your father persuaded me to take some of the stock, away back in the old days. And I have had it ever since. I had forgotten all about it.”
Montague smiled. “When you have disposed of yours,” he said, “you might refer your party to me. I know of some more that is for sale.”
“I have no doubt,” said the Colonel. “But I fancy it won't fetch much now. I don't remember receiving any dividends.”
There was a pause. “It is a curious coincidence,” said the other. “I, too, have been thinking about the railroad. My friend, Mrs. Taylor, has just come up from New Orleans. She used to be Lucy Dupree.”