The proprietor called a waiter, and gave him the order for the dinners in a haughty tone; and the man in a white apron was certainly very polite to him. He seemed to be perfectly at home; for, while they were waiting for the dinner, he got up and walked about the room, speaking to various persons, though the cashier that was to be could not hear any thing he said. Then he left the restaurant by a door in the rear, which Wade thought might lead to the kitchen. Certainly Mr. Flinker acted as though he was the master of the place, if the “one from the country” had for an instant suspected that he was not. Wade looked at the counter, at which quite a number of people were seated on high stools, eating oysters variously cooked. At one end stood an old man who was taking the money for the meals. He seemed to be very smart for an old man; and Wade concluded that he was the father of the proprietor. The waiter brought the two dinners ordered; and in another minute Mr. Flinker joined him at the table. Neither of them said much till the eatables were disposed of; for Wade was too much interested in his present occupation to care much for any thing else; but he saw what was going on all the time. He thought his new situation would be all that he desired. Then he and his future employer had pudding and coffee; and Wade was forced to admit that it was the best dinner he had eaten for a long time, if not the best he had ever had. The waiter brought two checks when the meal was finished. Wade didn’t see why the man should bring the proprietor these checks, as of course he did not have to pay for what he had ordered. Perhaps Mr. Flinker saw that he looked with some surprise upon these bits of pasteboard; for he at once explained them. “You will take notice of this little circumstance, Mr. Brooks,” said he. “I require a check to be given to every one that eats at these tables.” “What’s that for?” asked Wade. “If I didn’t do it, all the waiters might dine their friends here. The old gentleman at the counter don’t know that you are with me. Every one that dines here free carries his check to the cashier; and he is instructed to pass it without any money. It is a part of the cashier’s duty to see that every one brings a check to him. If the person is not to pay, he is the only one that knows any thing about it.” “Your father seems to be a very smart man, in spite of his age,” suggested Wade. “He thinks he is smart; and so he is, in a certain way; but he makes a great many mistakes. Besides, he knows too much for me. I have to support him; but he orders me around as though I were still a child,” laughed the proprietor of the restaurant. “He is my father; and of course I have to humor him.” “He has forgotten that you have grown up, I suppose,” added Wade.