gain."

And to the back porch came Mrs. Gashwiler to say it was a good thing
he'd got that clothesline back, and came her husband wishing to be told
what outlandish notion Merton Gill would next get into the thing he
called his head. It was the beginning of the end.

Followed a week of strained relations with the Gashwiler household,
including Dexter, and another week of relations hardly more cordial.
But thirty dollars was added to the hoard which was now counted almost
nightly. And the cruder wits of the village had made rather a joke of
Merton's adventure. Some were tasteless enough to rally him coarsely
upon the crowded street or at the post office while he awaited his
magazines.

And now there were two hundred and seventy-five dollars to put him
forever beyond their jibes. He carefully rehearsed a scathing speech for
Gashwiler. He would tell him what he thought of him. That merchant would
learn from it some things that would do him good if he believed them,
but probably he wouldn't believe them. He would also see that he had
done his faithful employee grave injustices. And he would be left, in
some humiliation, having found, as Merton Gill took himself forever out
of retail trade, that two could play on words as well as one. It was
a good warm speech, and its author knew every word of it from mumbled
rehearsal during the two weeks, at times when Gashwiler merely thought
he was being queer again.

At last came the day when he decided to recite it in full to the man
for whom it had been composed. He confronted him, accordingly, at a dull
moment on the third Monday morning, burning with his message.

He looked Gashwiler firmly in the eye and said in halting tones, "Mr.
Gashwiler, now, I've been thinking I'd like to go West for a while--to
California, if you could arrange to let me off, please." And Mr.
Gashwiler had replied, "Well, now, that is a surprise. When was you
wishing to go, Merton?"

"Why, I would be much obliged if you'd let me get off to-night on No.
4, Mr. Gashwiler, and I know you can get Spencer Grant to take my place,
because I asked him yester-day."

"Very well, Merton. Send Spencer Grant in to see me, and you can get off
to-night. I hope you'll have a good time."

"Of course, I don't know how long I'll be gone. I may locate out there.
But then again--"

"That's all right, Merton. Any time you come back you can have your same
old job. You've been a good man, and they ain't so plenty these d