"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.
"That’s where most of them are going," said Marriott.
Koerner winced perceptibly at Marriott’s mere glance at his amputated leg, and stretched the pipe-stem over it as if in protection.
"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.
"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.
"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."
The old man looked at Dick, and then turned to Marriott again.
"How much you goin’ charge me, huh?" His little hard blue eyes were almost closed.
"Oh, if I don’t get any damages for you, I won’t charge you anything."
The old man made him repeat this several times, and when at last he understood, he seemed relieved and pleased. And then he wished to know what the fee would be in the event of success.