Nicholas Minturn; A Study in a Story (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. IN WHICH NICHOLAS MAKES SEVERAL IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES, INCLUDING TWO MEMBERS OF THE COATES FAMILY, HIS OWN POWER TO TALK, AND A STRANGE STEAMER. As the reader will have concluded, Mr. Benson was not a slow man in his apprehensions. He was practised in arithmetic?so far at least, as to be familiar with the fact that one and one make two. He had put the look of intelligence that passed between Miss Larkin and Miss Bruce, on the occasion of his evening call upon them, with the remark he had overheard in the cabin concerning the fact that " the old man did not know how the thing was done," and had concluded that they amounted to a sum which, in social arithmetic, might mean more or less than two. In that science, when "applied," he had known instances in which one and one put together made one; and in the suspected case he was in no mood for favoring so tame a conclusion. An addition that would amount to a subtraction of Miss Larkin was not to be submitted to, for Miss Larkin was profitable to him. So, on the morning after the little affair in which Nicholas had assisted so efficiently, Mr. Benson approached a young lady of his acquaintance in the cabin, and expressed the fear that the removal of his ward from the deck on the previous day had been effected at some inconvenience to her friends. Why he should have approached a lady instead of a gentleman, and a young lady instead of an old one, it may be considered ungracious to state; but he had his reasons for that course, and was abundantly rewarded for his choice; for the young lady gave, with greatcheerfulness, a graphic account of the whole performance. Mr. Benson shook his head gravely, and expressed the hope that the matter would not be misconstrued. He was sure that some sudden emergency had occurred...