Jane Cable by George Barr McCutcheon
page 313 of 347 (90%)
page 313 of 347 (90%)
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boy, in Elias Droom dressing like a dog of a workingman, when he
is a gentleman of leisure and affluence? It surprises you to see me in an evening suit, eh? Well, by Jove, my boy, I've got a dinner jacket, a Prince Albert and a silk hat. There are four new suits of clothes hanging up in that closet," he said, adding, with a sarcastic laugh," That ought to make a perfect gentleman of me, oughtn't it? What are you laughing at?" "I can't help it, Elias. Who would have dreamed that you'd go in for good clothes!" "I used to dream about it, long ago. I swore if I ever got back to New York I'd dress as New Yorkers dress--even if I was a hundred years old. I've got a servant, too. What d'ye think of that? He can't understand a word I say, nor can I understand him. That's why he stays on with me. He doesn't know when I'm discharging him, and I don't know when he's threatening to leave. What do you think of my rooms?" It was Graydon's first visit to the place, weeks after their return to New York. He had not felt friendly to Droom since the day at the prison; but now he was forgetting his resentment, in the determination to wrest from him the names of Jane's father and mother. He was confident that the old man knew. "Better than Wells Street, eh? Well, you see, I was in trade then. Different now. I'm getting to be quite a fop. Do you notice that I say 'By Jove' occasionally?" He gave his raucous laugh of derision. "Dined at Sherry's the other night, old chap," he went on with raw mimicry. "They thought I was a Christian and let me in. I used to |
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