Alwus some dum thing ailin' 'em, an' I took consid'able stock in that colt too," he added regretfully, "an' I could 'a' got putty near what I was askin' fer him last week, an' putty near what he was wuth, an' I've noticed that most gen'ally alwus when I let a good offer go like that, some cussed thing happens to the hoss.

It ain't a bad idee, in the hoss bus'nis anyway, to be willin' to let the other feller make a dollar once 'n a while." After that aphorism they waited in silence for a few minutes, and then David called out over his shoulder, "How be you gettin' along, Mis' Cullom ?" "I guess I'm fixed," she answered, and David walked slowly back into the parlor, leaving John in the front office.

He was annoyed to realize that in the bustle over Mrs.Cullom and what followed, he had forgotten to acknowledge the Christmas gift; but, hoping that Mr.Harum had been equally oblivious, promised himself to repair the omission later on.

He would have preferred to go out and leave the two to settle their affair without witness or hearer, but his employer, who, as he had found, usually had a reason for his actions, had explicitly requested him to remain, and he had no choice.

He perched himself upon one of the office stools and composed himself to await the conclusion of the affair..