Page:The Young Auctioneers.djvu/257

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THE YOUNG AUCTIONEER.
241

some sort of a nice present. She is the only friend I had left in New York."

"A very nice young lady," returned Andy, and then he went on, with a short laugh: "I wonder what old Caleb Gulligan would say if he knew of our prosperity?"

"And I wonder what Mr. Randolph Fenton would say if he knew how I was doing? I hope when I write to Miss Bartlett that she lets him know," went on Matt. "I suppose he thought that after he discharged me I would go to the dogs."

"Yes, men like him very often imagine the world cannot possibly get along without them. I reckon you are glad that you are no longer in his employ."

"Glad isn't a strong enough word, Andy. It makes me shudder to look back at the times I spent in his offices, being bossed around and scolded from morning to night."

"I think traveling around has done us both a deal of good, Matt. I feel stronger than I have in years, and you look the picture of health, barring those bruises you received from Barberry and his companions."

"Oh, I feel fine! Outdoor life always did agree with me. When I was in Fenton's offices I felt very much like a prisoner in a jail. I wouldn't go back to that life again for the world!"