THE STEADFAST HEART
phased with the young man and his work, his patronage increased until he stood almost on an even footing with the older lawyer. It was a pebble whose widening ripples were destined to trouble the sands of Angus Burke.
Lawyer Crane, as Rainbow called him, as it named other men according to their callings—such as Depot Seaman and Druggist Toms, and the like—considered this encroachment upon his practice a sufficient ground for bitterness against Craig Browning; but as a bond of friendship grew up between the young attorney and the banker, Crane fanned his jealousy with apprehension, for he had reason to look forward to the death of Henry G. Woodhouse as a source of enrichment to himself. Was he not cousin to Mrs. Henry G. Woodhouse, deceased? Was he not sole relative by blood or marriage remaining, since the not-to-be-doubted death of Kate Woodhouse?… Waiting for dead men’s shoes is an occupation which pinches the soul….
In the week succeeding Angus Burke’s memorable thrashing of young Crane, Browning was summoned to the bank for conference. The matter being completed and the papers signed, Henry G. leaned back in his chair and looked speculatively at the young man, mechanically
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