Betty knit her brows.
"He must have a chance; perhaps if people knew you employed him
it would give them confidence--you must realize this, Charley; it
isn't enough that he has a house--he can't wear it nor eat it!"
"And fortunately he can't drink it, either. I don't want to
discourage you, but his looks are all against him, Betty. If you
take too great an interest in his concerns I am afraid you are
going to have him permanently on your hands."
"Haven't you some little scrap of business that really doesn't
matter much, Charley? You might try him--just to please me--"
she persisted coaxingly.
"Well, there's land I'm buying--I suppose I could get him to look
up the title, I know it's all right anyhow," said Norton, after a
pause.
Thus it happened that judge Price, before he had been three days
in Raleigh, received a civil note from Mr. Norton asking him to
search the title to a certain timber tract held by one Joseph
Quaid; a communication the effect of which was out of all
proportion to the size of the fee involved. The judge,
powerfully excited, told Mahaffy he was being understood and
appreciated; that the tide of prosperity was clearly setting his
way; that intelligent foresight, not chance, had determined him
when he selected Raleigh instead of Memphis. Thereafter he spoke
of Charley Norton only as "My client," and exalted him for his
breeding, wealth and position, refusing to admit that any man in
the county was held in quite the same esteem.
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