Atlengthhesaid，’IsoldMr。Watkinsstillalive？’inavoicewhichhadacuriousyouthfulcadenceinitevennow。
’Myfatherisdead，sir，’saidtheyoungman。
’Ah，Iamsorrytohearit，’saidthestranger。’ButitissomanyyearssinceIlastvisitedthistownthatIcouldhardlyexpectitshouldbeotherwise。’Afterashortsilencehecontinued——’AndisthefirmofBarnet，Browse，andCompanystillinexistence？——theyusedtobelargeflax-merchantsandtwine-spinnershere？’
’Thefirmisstillgoingon，sir，buttheyhavedroppedthenameofBarnet。Ibelievethatwasasortoffancyname——atleast，IneverknewofanylivingBarnet。’TisnowBrowseandCo。’
’AnddoesAndrewJonesstillkeeponasarchitect？’