Was he really doing this from a genuine thirst for knowledge?
It was inconsistent with all that Indian Spring knew of his antecedents and his present ambitions; he was a simple miner without scientific or technical knowledge; his already slight acquaintance with arithmetic and the scrawl that served for his signature were more than sufficient for his needs.

Yet it was with this latter sign-manual that he seemed to take infinite pains.

The master, one afternoon, thought fit to correct the apparent vanity of this performance.
"If you took as much care in trying to form your letters according to copy, you'd do better.

Your signature is fair enough as it is." "But it don't look right, Mr.Ford," said Uncle Ben, eying it distrustfully; "somehow it ain't all there." "Why, certainly it is.

Look, D A B N E Y--not very plain, it's true, but there are all the letters." "That's just it, Mr.Ford; them AIN'T all the letters that ORTER be there.