Something in the landlord's tone struck Frederick disagreeably. He glanced around, and the distrustful, watchful expression on the countenances of those about him revealed at once the nature of the suspicions against him. "You surely do not suspect me of being this James Wilson?" asked he, in surprise. "I guess you'll have hard work to prove that you are anything else. What is your name?" "Frederick Lanier." "And what business do you follow?" "I am a student in New York city. My uncle, with whom I reside there, is Mr. Oliver Lawrence. You may have heard of him?" But no. Well known as Mr. Lawrence was in Wall Street, his reputation did not extend to Hillsdale. Frederick saw that the mention of his uncle's name produced no effect. He glanced again over the description of the defaulter. "I surely am neither swarthy nor down-looking," said he, catching at a straw. "Wall, I don't think you be 'ither," said a young man, who seemed to look with some compassion on Frederick in his painful position. "Asa Cutting, who asked your opinion?" said the landlord, magisterially. "Young man," continued he to Frederick, "I hain't once seen the color of your eyes sence you've ben in my house." He must have seen them at that moment, for they were bent on him full of flashing indignation. But he went on. "If you are a college-larnt young man, you can read Greek most likely?" "Yes." "Wall, I've got a Greek book here that I would like to have you read out of." And, after some searching, a small book bound in paper was handed to Frederick. He took it readily, hoping to prove by his scholarship the truth of his assertions. To his disappointment, it was a little Chinese or Japanese pamphlet that had found its way to this remote place. "This is not Greek; it is Chinese," said he. "Hum!" said the landlord, in a tone of contempt; "that jest shows how much you know about it. If that ain't Greek, I would like to know what is. Do you ever see paper like that nowadays? That's Greek paper; it was invented ages before Chiny was ever heard of." "Wall," said Asa Cutting, "I always have thought that them scratches in that book that pass for letters were jest like the scratches on the tea-chists in my store." "Asa Cutting, what you think is nothin' to nobody, and what you say had better be the same. Young man, sence Greek is unbeknown to you, may be you'll have better luck with Latin." "I can read Latin," said Frederick, modestly. "Do you see them letters on my sign? You can read them out of the window here." "You mean the motto, '_E pluribus unum_,' I suppose?" said Frederick. "Yes," said the landlord. "What do they stand for now?" "'One of many,'" said Frederick. "I thought how it would be," exclaimed the landlord, triumphantly. "'One of many!' What, in the name of common sense, does that mean? No, young man; don't you see they are put under the eagle, and they mean, 'The eagle's flight is out of sight?'"