On the present occasion our legal friend decided¹ to call at once on Mr. Ford², in pursuance of the commission which he received from Lewis Rand. It involved a species of double dealing³ for which Mr. Sharp felt that he had peculiar⁴ qualifications.

 

Taking down from the nail his invariable white hat, he adjusted it somewhat jauntily⁵ upon his head, and walked forth⁶ with a benevolent⁷ smile irradiating his countenance⁸, as if he were meditating⁹ some scheme by which he expected to add largely to the sum-total of human happiness. There are others than he who go out with a smile upon the lips, but an evil purpose in their hearts.

 

The lawyer took his way to Mrs. Morton’s lodging-house. He went up stairs, and entered Mr. Ford’s room without ceremony, knowing that Helen would be absent at that hour, and that the habitual¹⁰ abstraction of her father would probably prevent his knock being heard.

 

“Ah, good afternoon, Mr. Ford,” he said, with affability, cordially grasping the inventor’s hand. “Still at your work, I see. I could not resist the impulse to call and inquire after your progress. It seems such a welcome relief to come from the close, dusty court-room to this little retreat of yours. And how are you getting on, my dear friend?”

 

“I am advancing as rapidly as I anticipated,” said Mr. 145Ford, pausing in the midst of an intricate calculation. “I feel that I have every reason to be encouraged.”

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