"My name is Marriott, Mr. Koerner, and this is Mr. Ward, Miss Elizabeth’s brother. She said you wished to see me." "You gom’, huh?" said Koerner, fixing Marriott with his little blue eyes. "Yes, I’m here at last," said Marriott. "Did you think I was never going to get here?" He drew up a chair and sat down. Dick took another chair, but leaned back and glanced about the room, as if to testify to his capacity of mere spectator. Mrs. Koerner stood beside her husband and folded her arms. The two children, hidden in their mother’s skirts, cautiously emerged, a bit at a time, as it were, until they stood staring with wide, curious blue eyes at Marriott. "You bin a lawyer, yet, huh?" asked Koerner severely. "Yes, I’m a lawyer. Miss Ward said you wished to see a lawyer." "I’ve blenty lawyers alreadty," said Koerner. "Der bin more as a dozen hier." He waved his pipe at the clock-shelf, where a little stack of professional cards told how many lawyers had solicited Koerner as a client. Marriott could have told the names of the lawyers without looking at their cards. "Have you retained any of them?" asked Marriott. "Huh?" asked Koerner, scowling. "Did you hire any of them?" "No, I tell ’em all to go to hell." "That’s where most of them are going," said Marriott. But Koerner did not see the joke. "How’s your injury?" asked Marriott. Koerner winced perceptibly at Marriott’s mere glance at his amputated leg, and stretched the pipe-stem over it as if in protection. "He’s hurt like hell," he said. "Why, hasn’t the pain left yet?" asked Marriott in surprise. "No, I got der rheumatiz’ in dot foot," he pointed with his pipe-stem at the vacancy where the foot used to be. "_That_ foot!" exclaimed Marriott. "Bess told us of that," Dick put in. "It gave her the willies." "Well, I should think so," said Marriott. Koerner looked from one to the other of the two young men. "That’s funny, Mr. Koerner," said Marriott, "that foot’s cut off." "I wish der tamn doctors cut off der rheumatiz’ der same time! Dey cut off der foot all right, but dey leave der rheumatiz’." He turned the long stem of his pipe to his lips and puffed at it, and looked at the leg as if he were taking up a problem he was working on daily. "Well, now, Mr. Koerner," said Marriott presently, "tell me how it happened and I’ll see if I can help you." Koerner, just on the point of placing his pipe-stem between his long, loose, yellow teeth, stopped and looked intently at Marriott. Marriott saw at once from his expression that he had once more to contend with the suspicion the poor always feel when dealing with a lawyer. "So you been Mr. Marriott, huh?" asked Koerner. "Yes, I’m Marriott." "Der lawyer?" "Yes, the lawyer." "You der one vot Miss Ward sent alreadty, aind’t it?" "Yes, I’m the one." Marriott smiled, and then, thinking suddenly of an incontrovertible argument, he waved his hand at Dick. "This is her brother. She sent him to bring me here."