I knew, when I looked at him, that practically I was looking at his
master, for I have known many cases where even the personal appearance
of the two was almost identical, which may have given rise to the
English phrase, 'Like master, like man.' The servant was a little more
haughty, a little less kind, a little more exclusive, a little less
confidential, a little more condescending, a little less human, a
little more Tory, and altogether a little less pleasant and easy
person to deal with.
'Sir,' he began, when I had waved him to a seat, 'I am a very rich
man, and can afford to pay well for the commission I request you to
undertake. To ask you to name your own terms may seem unbusinesslike,
so I may say at the outset I am not a business man. The service I
shall ask will involve the utmost secrecy, and for that I am willing
to pay. It may expose you to risk of limb or liberty, and for that I
am willing to pay. It will probably necessitate the expenditure of a
large sum of money; that sum is at your disposal.'
Here he paused; he had spoken slowly and impressively, with a touch of
arrogance in his tone which aroused to his prejudice, the
combativeness latent in my nature. However, at this juncture I merely
bowed my head, and replied in accents almost as supercilious as his
own:--
'The task must either be unworthy or unwelcome.
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