“Ah! a strange business yours,” continued Elwell, in that same musing tone. “You learn a great many secrets now, I suppose?” “Yes; and keep them, too,” replied Coleman shortly. “Keep them? Of course,” said Elwell, “that is part of your business. I suppose we are always known to our physician and our lawyer?” “Yes, I suppose we are,” assented Coleman, much as if he were considering an abstract problem. They went to Hooley’s, and from there went to several other places, but Peter remained perfectly sober--unusually sober, in fact, and rather taciturn--while Elwell, on the other hand, was unusually voluble. It would have appeared even as if Mr. Elwell--rising young man as he was--had altogether forgotten that he had started out with the expressed idea of keeping his friend sober. “And now we are going home to study our divorce, eh?” said Elwell, as they stopped. He had one hand upon each of Coleman’s shoulders, and gently rolled him back and forth, as he spoke, in a very jovial way. “Going to get up our points, eh?” Yes, Peter was going to take a turn at it, it appeared. “What an industrious fellow,” continued Elwell. “And so knowing! Now, what are the main requirements for obtaining one of those quiet divorces?” “Money,” responded Peter, with great promptness. “Oh, money of course,” said Elwell, not quite so jovially. “Money of course; but what else, now?” “Well, with money,” replied Coleman, speaking very soberly, “there is not much else actually necessary, excepting that one of the parties should have continued to reside in this State for one year preceding the application.” Elwell said nothing more about it; but bidding his friend good-night, entered the house, seemingly in a very pleasant humor indeed. Peter Coleman, on the contrary, appeared to get even more sober as he passed along the street on his way home. And when he got there, he sat in an easy-chair, with his short legs extended as straight as possible in front of him, his hat on the back of his head, and his hands in his trousers pockets, and sitting thus, he whistled softly for a short time. At last he arose, muttering such phrases as: “Clever fellow! How well he did it.” And “Who would have thought it!” He retired to bed, having first congratulated himself on running onto such a good case, and promising to “bleed” some unknown person as much as possible. CHAPTER XIV. ELWELL’S DIVORCE. Mr. Peter Coleman had an office in among the nest of other offices in one of the large office buildings on La Salle Street. The office of Mr. Peter Coleman was very small, situated in a nothoroughfare of a hall, and conveyed the impression of having wandered around until it had lost itself, and had never been able to properly locate itself again.