And how about his sons ?" "Lawyer Brice's sons ?" "Yes, of course." My imbecile's lips expanded into a broad grin.
"Lawyer Brice never had no sons," he exclaimed, with a tone which seemed to express a contemptuous pity for my ignorance; "he never married." "Well, well; his brothers.

He had brothers, I suppose ?" "Not as _I_ ever heard tell on," answered my imbecile, relapsing into hopeless inanity.
It was clear that no further help was to be obtained from him.

I went to the landlord--a brisk business-like individual of Transatlantic goaheadism.

From him I learned that there were no Brices in Ullerton, and never had been within the thirty years of his experience in that town.

He gave me an Ullerton directory in confirmation of that fact--a neat little shilling volume, which I begged leave to keep for a quarter of an hour before returning it.
Brice was evidently a failure.