"Never refuse a good offer, say I."
Poor Aunt Deborah! She little dreamed that she was the dupe of a
designing adventurer who bore no relationship to her.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE ROMANCE OF A RING.
Ferdinand B. Kensington, as he called himself, removed the next
morning to the house of Aunt Deborah. The latter received him very
cordially, partly because it was a pleasant relief to her solitude to
have a lively and active young man in the house, partly because she
was not forced to look upon him as a poor relation in need of
pecuniary assistance. She even felt considerable respect for the
prospective recipient of an income of two thousand dollars, which in
her eyes was a magnificent salary.
Ferdinand, on his part, spared no pains to make himself agreeable to
the old lady, whom he had a mercenary object in pleasing. Finding
that she was curious to hear about the great city, which to her was
as unknown as London or Paris, be gratified her by long accounts,
chiefly of as imaginative character, to which she listened greedily.
These included some personal adventures, in all of which he figured
very creditably.
Here is a specimen.
"By the way, Aunt Deborah," he said, casually, "have you noticed this
ring on my middle finger?"
"No, I didn't notice it before, Ferdinand. It's very handsome."
"I should think it ought to be, Aunt Deborah," said the young man.
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