"No? and the old gentleman so rich!"

Durgin said this with sincere indignation, and was perhaps
unconscious himself of experiencing that nameless, shadowy
satisfaction which Rochefoucauld says we find in the adversity of our
best friends. Certainly Richard looked very seedy in his suit of
slop-shop clothes.

"I was on my way to Mr. Slocum's to see if I could do anything
with him," Richard continued.

"To get a job, do you mean?"

"Yes, to get work,--to learn _how_ to work; to master a
trade, in short."

"You can't be an apprentice, you know," said Durgin.

"Why not?"

"Slocum has two."

"Suppose he should happen to want another? He might."

"The Association wouldn't allow it."

"What Association?"

"The Marble Workers' Association, of course."