"Oh! I'd do a great many things. Of course I should buy Dearest all
sorts of beautiful things, needle-books and fans and gold thimbles and
rings, and an encyclopedia, and a carriage, so that she needn't have to
wait for the street-cars. If she liked pink silk dresses, I should buy
her some, but she likes black best. But I'd, take her to the big stores,
and tell her to look 'round and choose for herself. And then Dick----"

"Who is Dick?" asked Mr. Havisham.

"Dick is a boot-black," said his young; lordship, quite warming up in
his interest in plans so exciting. "He is one of the nicest boot-blacks
you ever knew. He stands at the corner of a street down-town. I've
known him for years. Once when I was very little, I was walking out
with Dearest, and she bought me a beautiful ball that bounced, and I
was carrying it and it bounced into the middle of the street where the
carriages and horses were, and I was so disappointed, I began to cry--I
was very little. I had kilts on. And Dick was blacking a man's shoes,
and he said 'Hello!' and he ran in between the horses and caught the
ball for me and wiped it off with his coat and gave it to me and said,
'It's all right, young un.' So Dearest admired him very much, and so did
I, and ever since then, when we go down-town, we talk to him. He says
'Hello!' and I say 'Hello!' and then we talk a little, and he tells me
how trade is. It's been bad lately."

"And what would you like to do for him?" inquired the lawyer, rubbing
his chin and smiling a queer smile.

"Well," said Lord Fauntleroy, settling himself in his chair with a
business air, "I'd buy Jake out."