"What! not already? That's sudden, ain't it?" Paul did not answer; he was adding figures. "Have you been over the reasons?--weighed 'em?" "Oh, I leave the reasons to you," said Paul, turning a page. Hollis gave his almost silent laugh. But he gave it uneasily. "Positively declined? Letter gone?" "Yes." "Oh; well!" He waited a moment; then, as Paul did not speak, he opened the door and edged himself out without a sound. Ten minutes later his head reappeared with the same stealth. "Oh, I thought I'd just tell you--perhaps you don't know--the mail doesn't go out to-day until five o'clock: you can get that letter back if you like." "I don't want it back." "Oh; well." He was gone again. Outside in the street he saw the judge wandering by, and stopped him. "That there son-in-law of yours--" he began. "Son-in-law?" inquired the judge, stiffly. "Whatever pleases you; step-sister." "Mr. Tennant is the half-brother of the husband of my granddaughter." "'T any rate, that man in there, that Paul, he's so tremendously rash there's no counting on him; if there's anything to do he goes and does it right spang off without a why or a wherefore. He absolutely seems to have no reasons!--not a rease!" "I cannot agree with you. To me Mr. Tennant seems to have a great many." "But you haven't heard about this. Come along out to the Park for a walk, and I'll tell you." He moved on. But the judge did not accompany him. A hurrying mulatto, a waiter from one of the steamers, had jostled him off the narrow plank sidewalk; at the same moment a buggy which was passing, driven at a reckless speed, spattered him with mud from shoulder to shoe. "Never mind, come on; it'll dry while you're walking," suggested Hollis from the corner where he was waiting. The judge stepped back to the planks; he surveyed his befouled person; then he brought out a resounding expletive--half a dozen of them. "Do it again--if it'll ease you off," called Kit, grinning. "When you're blessing Potterpins, I'm with you every time." The judge rapped the planks with his cane. "Go on, sir! go on!" he said, violently. Hollis went loafing on. And presently the judge caught up with him, and trotted beside him in silence. "Well, that Paul now, as I was telling you, I don't know what to make of him," said Hollis, returning to his topic. "I think I know him, and then, suddenly he stumps me. Once he has made up his mind to anything--and it does not take long--off he goes and _does_ it, I tell you! He _does_ it." "I don't know what he _does_; his conversation has a good deal of the sledge-hammer about it," remarked the judge.