The old man, clad in a ragged dressing-gown, was sitting in a rocking-chair by the fire. The day was not cold, but his blood was thin, and he felt the need of some artificial heat. He was smoking a common clay pipe. "Isn't this sudden--your going to Montreal?" asked Mr. Benton. "Yes, sir; I think young Mr. Porter has made business there in order to give a chance to go?" "What do you mean to do?" "I shall attend first to the business of the firm, and then call on this lawyer, Mr. Brief." "It is well thought of, and, Benjamin, try to get a chance to see the new heir, Mr. Tremlett, and find out what use he is making of his property." "Yes, sir, I will." "Have you money enough to pay your expenses, Benjamin?" asked the old man, rather hesitatingly. "Oh, yes, sir; the firm provides for that." "To be sure. Of course they ought to do it," said Mr. Benton, appearing to feel relieved. "How long do you expect to be gone, Benjamin?" "I don't know, sir; I am to stop in Burlington and one or two other places. I may be gone ten days." "I shall feel lonely without you, Benjamin." "I am glad you value my society so much." "I am a lonely man, Benjamin; I have never had many friends, and I have outlived nearly all of those." "You ought to have married, Mr. Benton; then you would have children and grandchildren to comfort you in your old age." "I wish I had, Benjamin; but it is too late now." "It is never too late to mend, Mr. Benton," said Ben. "Men older than you have married." "Then they were fools," said Mr. Benton bluntly. "Suppose you should be sick, sir?" "I would hire a nurse. I am not rich, but I have enough to provide for the few years I have remaining." "I must ask you to excuse me now, sir," said Ben. "I must buy a few things which I shall need." Ben wrote briefly to his aunt, to let her know that he was about to start for Montreal. Mrs. Bradford was not a little discomposed. "It's tempting Providence to send a child like Benjamin to a foreign country," she remarked to Mrs. Perkins, who had dropped in for a neighborly chat. "Do you know how far it is, Mrs. Perkins?" "About a thousand miles," answered her visitor, whose ideas about geography were rather misty. "Suppose Ben should lose his way." "Like as not he will," observed Mrs. Perkins. "I shan't sleep a wink till Ben gets back. They ought to have sent somebody with him." "Ben can get along," said Tony, who had implicit confidence in his big cousin. "He won't get lost." "What does a child like you know about it?" said Mrs. Perkins rebukingly. "You shouldn't put in your oar when your mother and me are talking." Chapter XXXIV Solomon Brief