The smile, which always broke so suddenly, came back to Bert Chester’s face.
“Well, of course that’s why I broke loose from the ranch and went to college in the first place. I wanted to be as good, every way, as the best there is!”
“And you are already!”
He shook his head.
“No, or this wouldn’t have happened. I want to be good enough to marry any girl, no matter who. I’m going to amount to something. 189 I’m going to be rich, too—and a darn sight quicker than most people know. I don’t know that we came here to talk about that, though.”
“Please go on. We came here to talk about you—anything about yourself.”
“That part of it has something to do with the main issue. I’m going to pull out from Judge Tiffany as soon as I go up against the bar examinations next month. At least, I want to pull out, and I’m only wondering how the Judge will take it and how she will take it. You see, I might just as well get admitted, and then it is good-bye to law for me afterwards unless I use it in politics. Law—” Bertram rammed his finger on the table with each word that followed “law is too blame slow. Anyone could see that I couldn’t be chasing about as I’m doing if I had to depend on what Judge Tiffany is paying me as a clerk. Why, I’ve made twice as much already whirling at business. I’ll always have my admission to the bar, too. If I want to settle down on a law practice after I get rich, I can do it.”
“That seems very promising to me.” 190
“But here’s the question. Is the Judge going to take it for a throw-down, and how is Eleanor going to like the program?”
Kate appeared to be considering. In fact, she was considering a great many more things than Bertram knew.