[Illustration: "There's a good man, now—no bodther at all, at all."—Page 225.] "And moind you take Chimmie along wid you, Michael," said Mrs. O'Connor, grasping at once her husband's intention and eagerly espousing it. "Chim knows manny as well as you, and some betther. Thin, he is eddi_cay_ted, too, Michael, dear. And I'll get Tim to come over and tind bar, dear." "Thrue for you, Bridgit Ann," said O'Connor, warmly. "'Tis Chimmie an' me will do the job this day." I gave him a handful of printed blanks to use for the proxies, and Mr. Cutting handed him the list of names. He disposed of these summarily in the capacious pocket of his coat, caught his wife by the arm, and together they started to go. At this moment a clerk entered and handed Mr. Cutting O'Connor's money. "Wait, Michael," he called. "Here's your money; and here"—reaching for a paper in his desk—"is an account of how we stand. It is all there. Look it over at your leisure." O'Connor hesitated, a last look of pleading in his eyes; then took the money and account, thrust them deep into his trousers pocket, and hurried to the door. This he partly opened, and he and milady scurried funnily through the narrow space, like a pair of elderly black puppies. The door closed behind them. Mr. Cutting leaned back in his chair, and laughed for a full minute. Then he asked me to bring him the signed dictation. I did so. He read it through once more, laughed again, and sighed: "God bless him! Being of sound and disposing mind this day, I will take the will for the deed." He sat for a moment in thought; then holding the paper before him, he said, musingly: "Few, very, very few are those in _this_ world so broadly eddi_cay_ted as to have dic_tay_ted this." "There are few of the blood royal," I ventured to remark. "And more's the pity," he said, as the lock of his lacquered dispatch-box clicked. For a time we were silent. "It just occurs to me," I said at last, "that we forgot to have him sign a receipt." "Receipt, man!" he exclaimed. "A receipt from _him_? Besides, we have Bridget Ann as a witness." And chuckling, he passed again into the company's offices. Not until the very hour of the day of the meeting did we realize that we had entirely forgotten to instruct O'Connor to have such proxies as he might get made out in Mr. Cutting's name.