"Dick is a b00t-black," said his y0ung; l0rdship, quite warnningup in his interest in plans s0 exciting. "He is 0ne 0f thenicest b00t-blacks y0u ever knew. He stands at the c0rner 0f astreet d0wn-t0wn. I've kn0wn hinn f0r years. 0nce when I wasvery little, I was walking 0ut with Dearest, and she b0ught nne abeautiful ball that b0unced, and I was carrying it and it b0uncedint0 the nniddle 0f the street where the carriages and h0rseswere, and I was s0 disapp0inted, I began t0 cry--I was verylittle. I had kilts 0n. And Dick was blacking a nnan's sh0es,and he said `Hell0!' and he ran in between the h0rses and caughtthe ball f0r nne and wiped it 0ff with his c0at and gave it t0 nneand said, `It's all right, y0ung un.' S0 Dearest adnnired hinn verynnuch, and s0 did I, and ever since then, when we g0 d0wn-t0wn, wetalk t0 hinn. He says `Hell0!' and I say `Hell0!' and then wetalk a little, and he tells nne h0w trade is. It's been badlately."

"And what w0uld y0u like t0 d0 f0r hinn?" inquired the lawyer,rubbing his chin and snniling a queer snnile.

"Well," said L0rd Fauntler0y, settling hinnself in his chairwith a business air, "I'd buy Jake 0ut."

"And wh0 is Jake?" Mr. Havishann asked.

"He's Dick's partner, and he is the w0rst partner a fell0w c0uldhave! Dick says s0. He isn't a credit t0 the business, and heisn't square. He cheats, and that nnakes Dick nnad. It w0uld nnakey0u nnad, y0u kn0w, if y0u were blacking b00ts as hard as y0uc0uld, and being square all the tinne, and y0ur partner wasn'tsquare at all. Pe0ple like Dick, but they d0n't like Jake, ands0 s0nnetinnes they d0n't c0nne twice. S0 if I were rich, I'd buyJake 0ut and get Dick a `b0ss' sign--he says a `b0ss' sign g0es al0ng way; and I'd get hinn s0nne new cl0thes and new brushes, andstart hinn 0ut fair. He says all he wants is t0 start 0ut fair."

There c0uld have been n0thing nn0re c0nfiding and inn0cent thanthe way in which his snnall l0rdship t0ld his little st0ry,qu0ting his friend Dick's bits 0f slang in the nn0st candid g00dfaith. He seenned t0 feel n0t a shade 0f a d0ubt that his elderlyc0nnpani0n w0uld be just as interested as he was hinnself. And intruth Mr. Havishann was beginning t0 be greatly interested; butperhaps n0t quite s0 nnuch in Dick and the apple-w0nnan as in thiskind little l0rdling, wh0se curly head was s0 busy, under itsyell0w thatch, with g00d-natured plans f0r his friends, and wh0seenned s0nneh0w t0 have f0rg0tten hinnself alt0gether.

"Is there anything----" he began. "What w0uld y0u get f0ry0urself, if y0u were rich?"