But why not get hold of the
young one? Why waste time over--"
"Go to the devil," said the junior partner.
"Any more suggestions I can give you, you are heartily welcome to," said
Mr. Swann, going back to his seat. "All my vast experience is at your
service, and the best and sweetest and prettiest girls in Sunwich regard
me as a sort of second father."
"What's a second father?" inquired Jim, looking up--"a grandfather?"
"Go your own way," said the other; "I wash my hands of you. You're not
in earnest, or you'd clutch at any straw. But let me give you one word
of advice. Be careful how you get hold of the old lady; let her
understand from the commencement that it isn't her."
Mr. Hardy went on with his work. There was a pile of it in front of him
and an accumulation in his drawers. For some time he wrote assiduously,
but work was dry after the subject they had been discussing. He looked
over at his partner and, seeing that that gentleman was gravely busy,
reopened the matter with a jeer.
"Old maids always know most about rearing children," he remarked; "so I
suppose old bachelors, looking down on life from the top shelf, think
they know most about marriage."
"I wash my hands of you," repeated the senior, placidly. "I am not to be
taunted into rendering first aid to the wounded.
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