"I am certainly surprised, but I am pleased also. That is a point in Percy's favor, an unexpected one. He shan't lose by it." "I am afraid I shouldn't have got off if it hadn't been for a young lawyer from New York, named Conway, who volunteered to defend me." "Go on. Give me an account of it. Can you give me the address of Mr. Conway?" "Yes, uncle. I have it here." "I may be able to throw a little business in his way. One good turn deserves another." "I wish you would, Uncle Jacob. Mr. Conway refused to accept a fee, knowing that I could not afford to pay him." Uncle Jacob asked other questions as the dinner proceeded. Finally Bert brought out his most important piece of news. "I have just found out that my father is still alive," he said. "Yes, I knew that," returned Uncle Jacob calmly. "You knew it?" "Yes, he has been to see me." "He has! When?" "Last week." "You don't think him guilty of the charge which was brought against him?" "No; I think him a badly-used man." "I wish I could be the means of proving his innocence." "I mean that you shall be." Bert surveyed his uncle in surprise. "In fact, it is for that reason I have sent for you. Your father has put his case into my hands, and I propose to see him righted. This evening, when I am free from business cares, I will speak further with you on this subject." Uncle Jacob called for his check, paid it, and they returned to the office. CHAPTER XXV. AN ADVERTISEMENT AND WHAT CAME OF IT. Uncle Jacob left the office at five o'clock, and Bert, who had been exploring the lower part of New York, went uptown with him on the Sixth Avenue road. They got out at Twenty-third Street, and Jacob Marlowe led the way to a large, roomy house near Seventh Avenue. He took out a night-key, and opening the outer door proceeded to a large, handsomely furnished apartment on the second floor, with a bedroom attached. "This is where I live, Bert," he remarked, as he took off his hat and hung it up in a closet. Bert looked around him. To him the room looked quite luxurious, being furnished in a style which would compare favorably even with Squire Marlowe's, the best house in Lakeville. Bert knew nothing of room rents in New York; but, inexperienced as he was, he was surprised that his uncle, on a salary of twelve dollars a week, should be able to live so well. He would have been even more amazed had he known that the weekly rent of the room he was in was twelve dollars. "You've got a splendid room, Uncle Jacob," he said. "I shouldn't think you could afford to live in such style." "Some of my friends think I am extravagant," observed Jacob Marlowe with a smile. "Perhaps they are right." "I am afraid you can't save anything," went on Bert gravely. "What if you should get sick?" "I see, Bert, you are more prudent than I am. However I have invested some of my money in the Magnet Mine, and it is likely to double. So I feel justified in making myself comfortable."