`` Thanks , '' said Jimmy . `` He 'll be more than pleased . Your sublime cookery will delight him . He adores the west , but he ca n't endure its cooking . He 's always harping on his mother 's pantry and the good old down-east dinners . He 's dyspeptic and pessimistic most of the time , and he 's got half a dozen cronies just like himself . All they think of is railroads and bills of fare . '' `` Railroads ! '' I cried . And then an awful thought assailed me . `` Jimmy Nelson , your uncle is n't -- is n't -- he ca n't be Joseph P. Nelson , the rich Joseph P. Nelson ! '' `` Oh , he 's rich enough , '' said Jimmy ; getting up and reaching for his hat . `` In dollars , that is . Some ways he 's poor enough . Well , I must be going . Thanks ever so much for letting me bring Uncle Joe . '' And that rascal was gone , leaving me crushed . Joseph Nelson was coming to my house to dinner -- Joseph P. Nelson , the millionaire railroad king , who kept his own chef and was accustomed to dining with the great ones of the earth ! I was afraid I should never be able to forgive Jimmy . I could n't sleep a wink that night , and I cooked that dinner next day in a terrible state of mind .
Every ring that came at the door made my heart jump , -- but in the end XXXXX did n't ring at all , but just walked in with his uncle in tow .
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