“‘Here,’ says he from the top of a stepladder in the entry which looked as if a glacier had passed through it.

“‘Could you put me to work?’ says the boy.

“‘Don’t get me to shaking with laughter up here,’ says the old brute.  ‘Can’t you see I’d be in peril of falling off?’

“Young Angus undoes his bundle and reveals overalls and a jumper which he gets into quickly.  ‘What do I do first?’ says he.

“His father went on kalsomining and took never a look at him more.  ’The time has largely passed here,’ says he, ’for men that haven’t learned to do something, but you might take some of the burnt umber there and work it well into a big gob of that putty till it’s brown enough to match the woodwork.  Should you display the least talent for that we may see later if you’ve any knack with a putty knife.’

“The new hand had brought no lunch with him, but his father spared him a few scraps from his own, and they all swigged beer from a pail of it they sent out for.  So the scandal was now complete in all its details.  The palatial dining-room that night, being a copy of a good church or something from ancient Italy, smelled like a paint shop indeed—­and sounded like one through dinner.  ’That woodwork will be fit to second-coat first thing in the morning,’ says old Angus.  ’I’ll have it sandpapered in no time,’ says the boy.  ‘Your sandpapering ain’t bad,’ says the other, ‘though you have next to no skill with a brush.’  ’I thought I was pretty good with that flat one though.’  ’Oh, fair; just fair!  First-coating needs little finesse.  There!  I forgot to order more rubbing varnish.  Maybe the men will think of it.’  And so on till they both yawned themselves off to their Scotch Renaysence apartments.  Ellabelle had not yet learned the worst.  It seemed to be felt that she had a right to perish without suffering the added ignominy of knowing her son was acting like a common wage slave.

“They was both on the job next day.  Of course the disgraceful affair had by now penetrated to the remotest outlying marble shack.  Several male millionaires this day appeared on the scene to josh Angus, peer, and Angus, fills, as they toiled at their degrading tasks.  Not much attention was paid to ’em, it appears, not even to the old train-robber who come to jest and remained to cross-examine Angus about how much he was really going to clear on the job, seriously now.  Anything like that was bound to fascinate the old crook.

“And next day, close to quitting time, what happens but this here robber chieftain’s petted daughter coming in and hanging round and begging to be let to help because it was such jolly fun.  I believe she did get hold of a square of sandpaper with which she daintily tried to remove some fresh varnish that should have been let strictly alone; and when they both ordered her out in a frenzy of rage, what does she do but wait for ’em with her car which she made them enter and drove them to their abode like they belonged to the better class of people that one would care to know.  The two fools was both kind of excited about this that night.