"Well"--and Mr. Snark made a temple of worship from his fat fingers, his
cigar at right angles, his shrewd gray eyes on the ceiling--"I have a
position which I think you can fill. To make a long story short, I
have a client, a very wealthy gentleman of Cottonton, Virginia; name of
Calvert--Major Henry Clay Calvert. Dare say you've heard of the Virginia
Calverts," he added, waving the rank incense from the athletic cigar.

He had only heard of the family a week or two ago, but already he
persuaded himself that their reputation was national, and that his
business relations with them dated back to the Settlement days.

Garrison found occasion to say he'd never heard of them, and the eminent
lawyer replied patronizingly that "we all can't be well-connected,
you know." Then he went on with his short story, which, like all short
stories, was a very long one.

"Now it appears that Major Calvert has a nephew somewhere whom he has
never seen, and whom he wishes to recognize; in short, make him his
heir. He has advertised widely for him during the past few months, and
has employed a lawyer in almost every city to assist in this hunt for a
needle in a haystack. This nephew's name is Dagget--William C. Dagget.
His mother was a half-sister of Major Calvert's. The search for this
nephew has been going on for almost a year--since Major Calvert heard of
his brother-in-law's death--but the nephew has not been found."

The eminent lawyer cleared his throat eloquently and relighted the
athletic cigar, which had found occasion to go out.

"It will be a very fine thing for this nephew," he added speculatively.