“Youseemtobeveryparticl’randdiffikilttosatisfy，“continuedMrs。Morris；“but，ifyeoudon’tbelieveit，jestcomeandseeforyou’sef。“
Sheledthewaytothebureau，openedthedrawer，and，raisingaplaidcottonhandkerchief，displayedthecontrabandlettersbythescore。Allweredirectedtothelotteryfirm，andwereturnedovertotheknavefromtimetotimeasitsuitedhisconveniencetocallforthem。AsnosuchfirmdidbusinessatWingtonJunction，itwasthedutyofthepostmastertoforwardtothedepartment，asfictitiousandundeliverable，alllettersbearingtheaddressoftheswindlers。Insimilarcasesneglecttoobeytheregulationwastreatedassufficientgroundforinstantremoval。
Morefullypleasedwiththeresultoftheexaminationthanthewomansurmised，theofficerresumed：“Iseeyouareveryparticularaboutyourmethodsofdoingbusiness，anddonotmeantobecaughtnapping。Thearrangementweareabouttoenterintoisaveryimportantone，and，asyouarenotpostmaster，yourhusbandwillhavetobepresenttowitnessandratifythebargain。“
“Blessyeoursoul，“repliedshe，“it’sallright。I’tendtoallthebiznis。Myhusbanddoesn’tbotherhissefabeoutitintheleast。“
“Madam，“answeredtheofficer，“pardonme。Ihadmytraininginalargecity，andamaccustomedtopayminuteattentiontoeverydetail。Yourhusbandistheprincipalinthiscase，andmustratifytheagreementtomakeitbinding。Ofcourseyouwillderiveallthebenefit，buthispresenceisessentialasamatterofform。“