his mouth.

"Another like that and I could watch my mother go down for the third
time and laugh!"

"Where did you get it?" Wallie in turn emptied the cup and passed it
back.

"S-ss-sh!" Mr. Tucker looked warningly at the door. "I made it
myself--brown sugar and raisins. You like it then?"

"If I had about 'four fingers' in a wash-tub every half hour---- What
would you hold a quart of that at?" Pinkey leaned over the opening in
the floor and sniffed.

Mr. Tucker hastily replaced the plank and declared:

"Oh, I wouldn't dast! I jest keep a little on hand for my particular
friends that I can trust. By the way, Mr. Macpherson, what are you goin'
to do with that homestead you took up?"

"Hold it. Why?"

"I thought I might run across a buyer sometime and I wondered what you
asked."

A hardness came into Wallie's face and Tucker added:

"I wasn't goin' to charge you any commission--you've had bad luck
and----"

"You're the seventh philanthropist that's wanted to sell that place in
my behalf for about $400, because he was sorry for me," Wallie
interrupted, drily. "You tell Canby that when he makes me a decent offer
I'll consider it."

"No offence--no offence, I hope?" Tucker protested.

"Oh, no." Wallie shrugged his shoulder. "Only don't keep getting me
mixed with the chap that took up that homestead. I've had my eyeteeth
cut."

Extending an invitation to call and quench their thirsts with his
raisinade when next they came to town, Tucker unlocked the door.

After the two had wormed their way through the bureaus and stoves and
were once more in the street, they turned and gave each other a long,
inquiring look.

"Pink," demanded Wallie, solemnly, "did you smell anything when he
raised that plank?"

"Did I smell anything! Didn't you see me sniff? That joker has got a
cache of the real stuff and he gave us raisinade! I couldn't git an
answer from a barrel of that. He couldn't have insulted us worse if he'd
slapped our faces."

"A man ought to be punished that would do a wicked thing like that."

"You've said somethin', Gentle Annie."

The two looked at each other in an understanding that was beautiful and
complete.

The behaviour of the visitors was nearly too good to be true--it was so
exemplary, in fact, as to be suspicious, and acting upon this theory,
the barber closed his shop early, pinned on his badge of office, and
followed them about. But when at ten o'clock they had broken nothing,
quarrel