Cornelius"--he
looked up sharply at his son, who sat at a desk close by--"I hope you
are carrying out my ideas with regard to your sons. I've not seen much
of them lately. The lad Cyrus seems to me a promising fellow, but I'm
not so sure of Cornelius. He appears to be acquiring a sense of his own
importance as Cornelius Woodbridge, 3d, which is not desirable, sir--not
desirable. By the way, Cornelius, have you yet applied the Hezekiah
Woodbridge test to your boys?"
Cornelius Woodbridge, Junior, looked up from his work with a smile. "No,
I haven't, father," he said.
"It's a family tradition, and if the proper care has been taken that the
boys should not learn of it, it will be as much of a test for them as it
was for you and for me, and for my father. You have not forgotten the
day I gave it to you, Cornelius?"
"That would be impossible," said his son, still smiling.
The elder man's somewhat stern features relaxed, and he sat back in his
chair with a chuckle. "Do it at once," he requested, "and make it a
stiff one.
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