\"Why，Colton。Hewasinhereyesterday。Openedwhathecalledahouseholdaccount；thatwashismainbusiness。Butheaskedaboutyou，alongwithit。\"
Thisexplainedsomethings。ItwasclearnowwhySmallhadappearedsointerested。\"Oh！\"Isaid。
\"Youbethedid。WantedtoknowifIknewyou，andwhatyouwere，andsoon。ItoldhimIknewyouprettywell。’Whatsortofafellowishe？Adamnfool？’heasked。Istrainedthetruthenoughtosayyouwereaprettygoodfellowandalongwaysfromthatkindofafool，accordingtomyreckoning。’Umph！’sayshe。’Isherich？’ItoldhimIguessedyouwan’tsorichthatyougotround—
shoulderedluggingyourmoney。’Why？’saysI，gettingcurious。
’Haveyoumethim，Mr。Colton？Ifyouhaveyououghttohavesizedhimupyourself。Ialwaysheardyouwereaprettyfairjudge。’Helookedatmekindoffunny。’IthoughtIwas，’sayshe，’butyouseemtoraiseanewvarietydownhere。’ThenIguesshethoughthe’dsaidenough。Atanyrate，hewalkedoff。Whatdidyouandhesaytoeachother，Ros？\"
Ididnotanswerimmediately。WhenIdidtheanswerwasnon—
committal。\"Oh，wehadabusinessinterview，\"Isaid。
Henodded。\"Well，\"heobserved，\"Isupposeit’syouraffairandnotmine。But，Itellyouthis，Ros：ifit’swhatIsupposeitis，it’llbeeverybody’saffairprettysoon。\"
\"Youthinkso，doyou？\"
\"Iknowso。Cap’nJed’safighterandheisonthewarpath。Thetwosidesareliningupalready。Whicheverwayyoudecideyou’llmakeenemies，ofcourse。\"
Ishruggedmyshoulders。Theprospectofenemies，moreorless，inDenboro，didnottroubleme。
\"Butyou’llhavetodecide，\"hewenton，\"whoyou’llsellto。\"
\"Ornotsellatall，\"Isuggested。
\"Canyouaffordtodothat？There’llbemoney——awholelotofmoney——inthisbeforeit’sover，ifIknowtheleadersonbothsides。You’vegotthewhip—hand。There’llbemoneyinit。Canyouaffordtoletitslip？\"
Ididnotanswer。Suddenlyhisexpressionchanged。Helookedhaggardandcare—worn。
\"BytheAlmighty，\"hesaid，betweenhisteeth，andwithoutlookingatme，\"IwishIhadyourchance。\"
\"Why？\"
\"Oh，nothing，nothing……How’syourmothernowadays？\"
Itoldhimthatmymotherwasmuchasusual，andwetalkedofvariousthings。
\"Bytheway，\"hesaid，\"I’vegotsomenewsforyou。Nothingsurprising。Iguessallhandshaveseenitcoming。I’mengagedtobemarried。\"
\"Good！\"saidI，withasmuchheartinessasIcouldanswer；marriagedidnotinterestme。\"Congratulations，George。NellieDean，ofcourse。\"
\"Yes。\"
\"I’mgladforyou。Andforher。She’llmakeyouagoodwife，I’msure。\"
Hedrewalongbreath。\"Yes，\"hesaidslowly，\"Nellie’sagoodgirl。\"
\"Whenisthe——whatdotheycallit？thehappyeventtotakeplace？\"
\"Inthefallsometime，ifallgoeswell。Ihopeitwill。\"
\"Humph！Yes，Ishouldthinkyoumighthopeasmuchasthat。Whyshouldn’titgowell？\"
\"Hey？Oh，ofcourseitwill！\"Helaughedandrosefromhischairasseveralmencameintothebank。\"I’llhavetoleaveyou，Ros，\"
hesaid。\"There’sadirectors’meetingthismorning。They’recomingnow。\"
AsIpassedoutofthegateandthroughthegroupofdirectorsI
noticedthattheyalsoregardedmewithinterest。Two，menfromneighboringtownswhomIscarcelyknew，whisperedtoeachother。
CaptainElishaWarrenshookhandswithmeandinquiredconcerningMother。ThelastofthegroupwasCaptainJedediahDean，andhetouchedmeontheshoulder。
\"Ros，\"hewhispered，\"you’reallright。Understand？Isayyou’reallright。\"
\"Thanks，\"Ianswered，briefly。
\"Iheardaboutit，\"hewhispered。\"AsePeterssaidtheGrandPanjandrumwascrankyasasharkwiththetoothachealldayyesterday。Youmusttellmetheyarnwhenwegettogether。I
missedyouwhenIcalledjustnow，butI’llbedownagainprettysoon。Youwon’tlosenothin’bythis。Solong。\"
AsIcamedownthebankstepsSimEldredgecalledacrosstheroad。
\"Good—by，Ros，\"heshouted。\"Comeinagainnexttimeyou’reupstreet。\"
InallmyperiodofresidenceinDenboroIhadneverbeforebeentreatedlikethis。Peoplehadneverbeforegoneoutoftheirwaytoshakehandswithme。Noonehadconsidereditworthwhiletoaskfavorsofme。SimandAlvinwerenottobetakenseriously，ofcourse，andbothwerelookingaftertheirownpocketbooks，buttheiractionswerestrawsprovingthewindtobeblowinginmydirection。Ithought，andsmiledscornfully，thatI，allatonce，seemedtohavebecomeapersonofsomeimportance。
Butmyscornwasnotentirelysincere。Therewasacertaingratificationinthethought。Imightpretend——Ihadpretended——
thatDenboroopinion，goodorbad，wasamatterofcompleteindifferencetome。Ihadassumedmyselfaphilosopher，towhom，intheconsciousnessofright，suchtrifleswereofnoconsequence。
But，philosophyornot，thefactremainedthatIwaspleased。
Peoplemightdislikeme——asthatloftyColtongirlandherfatherdislikedme，thoughtheycoulddislikemenomorethanIdidthem——
butIcouldcompelthemtorespectme。Theyalreadymustthinkofmeasaman。Andsoon——asIwalkedhomethroughthewetgrass。
Itwasallasfoolishandchildishandridiculousasitwellcouldbe。Ideservedwhatwascomingtome——andIgotit。
For，asIcamedowntheLane，ImetOscar，thechauffeur，andacompanion，whomIjudgedtobeafellowservant——thecoachman，I
learnedafterwards——walkinginthedirectionofthevillage。Therainhadceased，buttheyworenattyraincoatsandcapsandhadthecityairofsmartnesswhichIrecognizedandenvied，eveninthem。
Thefootpathwasnarrow，buttheyapparentlyhadnointentionofsteppingtooneside，soImadewayforthem。Theywhisperedtogetherastheyapproachedandlookedatmecuriouslyaswepassed。AfewstepsfurtheronIheardthembothburstoutlaughing。Icaughtthewords，fromOscar，\"foolRube\"and\"theoldman’llmakehimlook——\"Iheardnomore，butasIturnedintothegroveIsawthembothlookingaftermewithbroadgrinsontheirfaces。
Somebodyhassaidthatthereisnothinghardertobearthanthecontemptandridiculeofservants。Foronething，youcannotresentitwithoutalossofdignity，and，foranother，youmaybeperfectlysurethattheirsisbutthereflectionoftheiremployers’frameofmind。Thisencountershookmyself—satisfactionmorethanalittle。Itangeredme，butitdidmorethanthat；itbroughtbackthefeelingIhadwhenIlefttheColtonlibrary，thatmydefiancewasnot，afterall，takenseriously。ThatIwasregardedbyColtonasjustwhatOscarhadtermedme，a\"foolRube。\"WhenGeorgeTaylortoldmeofthegreatman’squestionsconcerningmyfoolishness，I
acceptedthequestionasatributetomyindependence。NowIwasnotsosure。
Dorindametmeatthedoor。
\"You’vehadtwocallers，\"shesaid。
\"So？Whowerethey？\"
\"Oneof’emwasCap’nJed。Hedrovedownjustafteryouleft。Hecometoseeyouaboutthatland，Ical’late。\"
\"Oh，yes。Irememberhetoldmehemissedmethismorning。Sohecamehere？\"
\"Um—hm。Himandmehadalittletalk。Heseemedtoknowconsider’bleaboutyourrumpuswithMr。Colton。\"
\"Howdidheknow？\"
\"Hewouldn’tsay，butIwouldn’twonderifhegotalotfromAsePeters。Aseandheareprettythick；he’sgotamortgageonAse’shouse，youknow。AndAse，bein’ashe’sdoin’thecarpenterin’
overtoColton’s，hearsalotfromtheservants，Is’poselikely。
Leastways，iftheydon’ttellalltheirbosses’affairsthey’reanewbreedofhiredhelp，that’sallI’vegottosay。Cap’nJedsaysMr。Coltoncal’latesyou’reafool。\"
\"Yes。SoI’veheard。WhatdidtheCaptainsaytothat？\"
\"Seemedtothink’twasaprettygoodjoke。Hesaidhedidn’tcarehowbigafoolyouwassolong’syouwasfeeble—mindedontherightside。\"
Sothereitwasagain。Myimaginedimportanceintheeyesofthetownspeoplesimmereddowntoaboutthat。Iwasanimbecile，buttheymustpretendtobelievemesomethingelsebecauseIownedsomethingtheywanted。Well，Istillownedit。
\"Ofcourse，\"continuedDorinda，\"Ididn’ttellhimyouwasfiggerin’nottosellthelandatall。IfIhad，Is’posehe’dhavethought——\"
Shestoppedshort。
\"Yousupposewhat？\"Iasked。
\"Oh，nothin’。\"
Shehadsaidenough。Icouldguesstherest。Iwalkedtothewindowandstood，lookingout。Thecloudswerebreakingand，asI
stoodthere，arayofsunlightstreamedthroughariftandstruckthebayjustatthespotwherethedingyhadgrounded。Theshallowwaterabovetheflatflashedintofire。Iamnotsuperstitious，asageneralthing，butthesightcomfortedme。Itseemedlikeanomen。Therewastheonebrightspotintheoutlook。There，atleast，Ihadnotbehavedlikea\"foolRube。\"ThereIhadcompelledrespectandbeentakenseriously。
Dorindaspokeagain。
\"Youain’taskedwhoyourothercallerwas，\"sheobserved。
\"Wasthereanother？\"
\"Um—hm。Itoldyoutherewastwo。AfterCap’nJedleftthatchauffeurfellerfromthebighousecomehere。Hefetchedanoteforyou。Here’tis。\"
Itookthenote。Itwasaddressedtomeinaman’shandwriting，notthatof\"BigJim\"Colton。Iopenedtheenvelopeandread：
RoscoePaine。
Sir：Theenclosedisinpaymentforyourwork。Noreceiptisnecessary。
Yourstruly，B。VICTORCARVER。
The\"enclosed\"wasafive—dollarbill。
Istoodstaringatthenote。ThenIbegantolaugh。
\"What’sthejoke？\"askedDorinda，whohadnottakenhereyesfrommyface。
\"This，\"saidI，handingherthemoney。Shelookedatitinastonishment。
\"Um—hm，\"shesaid，drily。\"Well，I——well，afive—dollarbillmaybeajoketoyou，but_I_ain’tfamiliarenoughwithonetolaughatit。Youdon’tlaughasif’twasawfulfunny，either。Who’sthejokeon？\"
\"It’sonme，justnow。
\"Um—hm。I’dbewillin’tobejokedtentimesaday，atthatprice。
AndI’dundertaketolaughheartierthanyou’redoin’，too。What’sitfor？themoney，Imean。\"
\"It’sforsome’work’Ididyesterday。\"
Shewasmoreastonishedthanever。
\"Work！You？\"sheexclaimed。
\"Yes。Butdon’tworry；Ishan’tdoitagain。\"
\"Land！THATwouldn’tworryme。Whatsortofworkwasit？\"
\"Oh，I——Ipickedupsomethingadriftinthebay。\"
\"Um—hm。Isee。Somethin’belongin’totheColtons，Is’poselikely。Whywon’tyoudoitagain？Ain’ttheypaidyouenough？\"
AgainIlaughed。\"Theyhavepaidmetoomuch，\"Isaid，bitterly。
\"WhatIpickedupwasn’tworththemoney。\"
CHAPTERVII
Andthat，intheend，wastheanswerIsenttoCarverwithhisfivedollars。Ispentanhourinmyroomtryingtocomposeandwriteasarcasticreplytohisnote，butIfinallygaveitup。ThenIputthemoneyinanenvelope，addressedthelatter，andsentittothebighousebyLute。Lutewasdelightedwiththeerrand。
\"You’llexplaintoDorindy，willyou？\"heasked。\"Shecal’latesI’mgoin’tocleanthehenhouse。ButIcandothatsomeothertime。\"
\"Youcan——yes。\"
\"Doyouknow——\"Luteleanedagainsttheclothespostandpreparedtophilosophize。\"Doyouknow，\"heobserved，\"thatIdon’ttakenostockincleanin’henhousesandsuch？\"
\"Don’tyou？I’msurprised。\"
\"You’resurprised’causeyouain’tthoughtitout。That’smyway；
Ialwaysthinkthingsout。Mostfolksareselfish。Theywanttodowhattheywanttodo，andtheywantotherstowantthesamething。Iftheothersdon’twantit，thentheyliketomake’emhaveit；anyhow。Dorindyiscrazyoncleanin’。Shewouldn’tliveinadirtyhousenomore’nshe’dliveinalobsterpot。It’sthewayshe’smade。Butahenain’tmadethatway。AhenLIKESdirt；
shescratchesinitanddigsholesinittowallerin，andheavesitoverherselfalldaylong。IfyouleftittothehenswouldTHEYcleantheirhouse？Iguessnot！So，Isaywhat’stheuseofcruelizin’’embymakin’’emlivecleanwhentheydon’twantto？
I——\"
\"Waitaminute，\"Iinterrupted。\"Lute，you’rewastingyourbreath。
ItisDorindayoushouldexplainallthisto，nottome。Andyou’rewastingmytime。IwantyoutotakethatenvelopetoMr。
Carver；andIwantyoutogonow。\"
\"Well，I’mgoin’，ain’tI？Iwasonlyjustsayin’——\"
\"Sayitwhenyoucomeback。AndifMr。CarverasksyouwhyIsentthatenvelopetohimbesureandgivehimthemessageIgaveyou。
Doyourememberit？\"
\"Sartin。Thatwhatyoudonewan’twuthsomuch。\"
\"Notexactly。ThatwhatIsavedwasn’tworthit。\"
\"Allright。I’llremember。Butwhatdidyousave，Ros？Dorindysays’twassomethin’youfoundafloatinthebay。Ifitwassomethin’belongin’tothemColtonsI’dhavetookthemoney，nomatterwhatthethingwaswuth。Theycanaffordtopayand，ifI
wasyou，I’dtakethereward。\"
\"Ihavemyreward。Nowgo。\"
IhadmyrewardandIbelieveditworthmuchmorethanfivedollars。Ihadlearnedmylesson。IknewnowexactlyhowIwasregardedbytheoccupantsofthebighouseandbythetownspeopleaswell。Ishouldcherishnomoreillusionsastomyimportanceintheireyes。Imeanttobereallyindependentfromthattimeon。I
didnotcare——reallydidnotcare——foranythingoranybodyoutsidemyimmediatehousehold。IwasbackinthepositionIhadoccupiedforyears，butwithonedifference：Ihadanambitionnow。ItwastomakebothsidesintheShoreLanecontroversyrealizethatGeorgeTaylorwasrightwhenhesaidIhadthewhip—hand。BytheAlmighty，theyshoulddancewhenIcrackedthatwhip！
Myfirstopportunitytocrackitcameadayortwolater，whenCaptainDeancalleduponme。Hehadadefinitepropositiontomake，althoughhisYankeeshrewdnessandcautionpreventedhismakingituntilhehaddiscussedtheweatherandotherunimportanttrifles。Thenheleanedagainsttheedgeofmywork—bench——wewereintheboathouse——andbegantobeatuptowindwardofhisproposal。
\"Ros，\"hesaid，\"yourememberItoldyouyouwasallright，whenI
metyouatthebankt’otherday。\"
\"Iremember，\"Ianswered。
\"Yes。Well，Ical’lateyouknowwhatImeantbythat。\"
Ididnotpretendignoranceofhismeaning。
\"Ipresume，\"Ireplied，\"thatyoumeantIwasrightinnotsellingthatstripoflandtoMr。Colton。\"
\"That’swhatImeant。YoukeptyourpromisetomeandIshan’tforgetit。Northetownwon’tforgetit，neither。Wouldyoumindtellin’mejustwhathappenedbetweenyouandHisMajesty？\"
\"Notatall。HesaidhewantedtobuytheShoreLanestripandI
refusedtosellittohim。HesaidIwascrazyandaninfernalrobberandItoldhimtogotothedevil。\"
\"WHAT！youdidn’t！\"
\"Idid。\"
CaptainJedslappedhiskneeandshoutedindelight。Heinsistedonshakinghandswithme。
\"Bythegreatandeverlastin’！\"hedeclared，betweenlaughs，\"you’reallright，RosPaine！IsaidyouwasandnowI’llsweartoit。ToldoldColtontogotothedevil！Ifthatain’t——oh，IwishI’dbeenthere！\"
Iwentonsand—paperingavalveplug。Hewalkedupanddownthefloor，chuckling。
\"Well，\"hesaid，atlast，\"you’vemadeyourselfsolidinDenboro，anyhow。AndItoldyouyoushouldn’tlosenothin’byit。TheSelectmenheldameetin’lastnightandtheyfeel，sameasme，thatthatShoreLaneshan’tbeshutoff。Youunderstandwhatthatmeanstoyou，don’tyou？\"
Ilookedathim，coolly。
\"No，\"Ianswered。
\"Youdon’t！Itmeansthetown’sdecidedtobuythatstripoflandofyours。Definitelydecided，practicallyspeakin’。Nowwhat’llyousellittousfor？\"
Iputdownthevalveplug。\"Captain，\"saidI，\"thatlandisnotforsale。\"
\"NotforSALE？Whatdoyoumeanbythat？\"
\"ImeanthatIhavedecidednottosellit，forthepresent，atleast。NeithertoColtonnoranyoneelse。\"
Hecouldnotbelieveit。OfcourseIwouldnotsellittoColton。
Coltonwasastuck—up，selfishcityaristocratwhothoughtallcreationoughttobelongtohim。Butthetownwasdifferent。DidIrealizethatitwasthetownIlivedinthatwasaskingtobuynow？ThetownofwhichIwasacitizen？Thinkofwhatthetownhaddoneforme。
\"Verywell，\"Ianswered。\"I’mwillingtothink。Whathasitdoneforme？\"
Ithad——ithad——well，ithaddoneawholelot。AsacitizenofthattownIowedita——a——
\"Lookhere，CaptainDean，\"Iinterrupted，\"there’snouseinourarguingthematter。Ihavedecidednottosell。\"
\"Don’ttalksofoolish。Courseyou’llsellifyougetmoneyenough。\"
\"SoColtonsaid，butIshan’t。\"
\"Ros，Iain’tgotanyauthoritytodoit，butIshouldn’twonderifIcouldgetyouthreehundreddollarsforthatstrip。\"
\"Itisn’taquestionofprice。\"
\"Rubbish！Anything’saquestionofprice。\"
\"Thisisn’t。IfitwasIprobablyshouldhaveacceptedMr。Colton’sofferofsixhundredandfifty。\"
\"Sixhun——！Doyoumeantosayheofferedyousixhundredandfiftydollarsforthatlittlemiteofland，andyounevertookhimup？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Well，youmustbea……Humph！Sixhundredandfifty！Thetowncan’tmeetnosuchbidasthat，ofcourse。\"
\"Idon’texpectitto。\"
Heregardedmeinsilence。Hewaschagrinedandangry；hisfloridfacewasredderthanever；but，morethanall，hewaspuzzled。
\"Well，\"heobserved，afteramoment，\"thisbeatsme，thisdoes！
Lasttimewetalkedyouwaswillin’toconsidersellin’。What’schangedyou？What’sthereasonyouwon’tsell？Whatbusinessreasonhaveyougotfornotdoin’it？\"
Ihadnobusinessreasonatall。ExceptforMother’scounselnottosell，whichwasbaseduponsentimentandnothingelse，andmyownstubbornness，Ihadnoreasonatall。YetIwas，ifanything，morefirminmyresolve。
\"HowabouttheLane？\"hedemanded。\"YouknowwhatthatLanemeanstoDenboro？\"
\"Iknowwhatyousayitmeans。ThetownspeoplecancontinuetousetheLane，justastheyalwayshave，solongastheybehavethemselves。Thereisnouseofourtalkingfurther，Captain。I’vemadeupmymind。\"
Hewentaway，soonafter，butheaskedanotherquestion。
\"Willyoudothismuchforme？\"heasked。\"WillyoupromisemenottosellthelandtoColton？\"
\"No，\"Isaid，\"Iwillmakenopromiseofanykind，toanybody。\"
\"Oh，\"withascornfulsniff，\"Isee。I’montoyou。You’rejusthangin’outforabigprice。Imighthaveknownit。You’reonColton’sside，afterall。\"
Irose。Iwasangrynow。
\"Itoldyoupricehadnothingtodowithit，\"Isaid，sharply。\"I
amonnoone’sside。ThetowniswelcometousetheLane；thatI
havetoldyoualready。Thereisnothingmoretobesaid。\"
Heshookhishead。
\"Idon’tmakemanymistakes，\"heobserved，slowly；\"butIguessI’vemadeone。You’reawholelotdeeper’nIthoughtyouwas。\"
Somuchfortheproletariat。Iheardfromtheplutocratsnextday。
SimEldredgedroppedinonme。AftermuchwrigglingaboutthebushheintimatedthatheknewofCaptainJedediah’scallandwhathadtakenplace。
\"Youdonejustright，Ros，\"hewhispered。HehadahabitofwhisperingastheCaptainhadofshouting。\"Youdonejustright。
Keep’emguessin’；keepemguessin’。Jed’sallupsot。Hedon’tknowwhetherhe’skeeldownoronhisbeamends。He’llbemakin’ahigherbidprettysoon。Say，\"withawink，\"IseeColtonlastnight。\"
\"Didyou？\"
\"Yup。Oh，Igivehimajolt。Ihintedthatthetownhadmadeyouafineofferandyouwasconsiderin’it。\"
\"Whatdidyoudothatfor？Whogaveyoutherightto——\"
\"Sshh！Don’tholler。Somebodymightbelistenin’。Icomethroughthewoodsandroundthebeachso’sIwouldn’tbeseen。Whatdoyous’poseColtonsaid？\"
\"Idon’tcarewhathesaid。\"
\"YouwillwhenItellyou。Heasmuchasofferedathousanddollarsforthatland。Mycrimps！athousand！thinkofthat！I
presumelikelyyouwouldn’ttakethat，wouldyou，Ros？\"
\"Sim，I’lltellyou，asItoldCaptainJed，thatlandisnotforsale。\"
Itriedtomakethatstatementfirmandsharpenoughtopenetrateevenhiswoodenhead；buthemerelywinkedagain。
\"Allright，\"hewhispered，hastily，\"allright。Iguessperhapsyou’recorrectinhangin’on。Still，athousandisalotofmoney，evenafteryoutakeoutmylittlecommission。Butyouknowbest。
Youputyourtrustinme。I’llkeepherjumpin’。Iunderstand。
Good—by。\"
Hewentouthurriedly，and，thoughIshoutedafterhim，heonlywavedandduckedbehindabeach—plumbush。Hedidnotbelievemeseriousinmyrefusaltosell；neitherdidDean，orColton，or，apparently，anyoneelse。Theyallthoughtmemerelyshrewd，asharptraderdrivingahardbargain，astheywouldhavedoneinmyplace。Theymightthinkso，iftheywished；Ishouldnotexplain。
Asamatteroffact，Icouldnothaveexplainedmyattitude，eventomyself。
Yetthisveryattitudemadeadifference，aperceptibledifference，inmypositioninDenboro。InoticediteachtimeIwentuptothevillage。Isawthegroupsatthepost—officeandatthedepotturntowatchmeasIapproachedandasIwentaway。CaptainJedediahdidnotmentiontheLaneagain——atleastforsometime——buthealwayshailedmecordiallywhenwemetandseemedanxioustobeseeninmycompany。Eldredge，ofcourse，waseffusive；sowasAlvinBaker。Andotherpeople，citizensofconsequenceinthetown，whohadheretoforemerelybowed，nowstoppedtospeakwithmeonthestreet。MembersofthesewingcirclecalledonMothermorefrequently，andMatildaDean，CaptainJed’swife，cameregularlyonceaweek。SometimesshesawMotherandsometimesshedidnot，dependinguponDorinda’sstateofmindatthetime。
Lute，alwaysasortofsocialbarometer，noticedthechangeintheweather。
\"Everybody’stalkin’aboutyou，Ros，\"hedeclared。\"Theycal’lateyou’reaprettysmartfeller。Theydon’tjustunderstandwhatyou’reupto，buttheythinkyou’reprettysmart。\"
\"No？\"Icommented，ironically。\"Lute，youastonishme。WhyamI
smart？\"
\"Well，theydon’tknowexactly，buttheycal’lateyoumustbe。Oh，Ihearthings。Cap’nJedsaidt’othernightyou’dmakeaprettygoodSelectman。\"
\"_I_would？ASelectman？\"
\"Yup。Heasmuchashintedthattome；wonderedifyou’dtakethenominationprovidedhecouldfixitforyou。SimEldredgeandAlvinandsomemoreallsaidthey’dvoteforyouiftheygotachance。AREyoufiggerin’tochargetollontheLane？\"
\"Toll？Whatputthatideainyourhead？\"
\"Nothin’，onlysomeofthefellerswonderedifyouwas。Yousee，youwon’tsell，andso——\"