gradually
taking hold upon Poketown people. One of his ungracious statements,
when his store was well filled with customers, brought about the retort
pointed from none less that Mrs. Marvin Petrie herself.

"Well, Bill Jones," declared that plain-spoken old lady, "we wimmen
have made up our minds to clean out the flies, an' all other dirt, if
we can. Poketown is unsanitary--so Dr. Poole says--and we know it's
always been slovenly. There ain't a place, I'll be bound, in the whole
town, that needs cleaning up more'n this, your store!"

"I ain't no dirtier than anybody else!" roared Jones, very red-faced.

"But you aim to be. So you say. When other folks all about you are
goin' to clean up, you say you won't be driv' to it. Wa-al! I'll tell
you what's going to happen to you, Bill Jones: We wimmen air goin' to
trade at stores that are decently clean. Anyway, they're cleaner than
this hovel of your'n. Don't expect me in it ag'in till I see a change."

Mrs. Marvin Petrie marched out of the shop without buying. Several
other ladies followed her and distributed their patronage among the
other shops. Old Bill hung out for a few days, "breathing threatenings
and slaughter." Then the steady decrease in his custom was too much
for the old man's pocketbook. He began to bleed _there_. So he
signified his intention of falling in with the new movement.

There were householders, too, who had to be urged to join in the
general clean-up of Poketown. Dr. Poole wrote a brief pamphlet upon
the house-fly and the dangers of that pest, and this was printed and
scattered broadcast about the town. To the amazement of a good many of
the older members, like Elder Concannon, Mr. Middler read this short
treatise from the pulpit and urged his hearers to screen their
pantries, at least, to "swat the fly" with vigor, and to remove barns
and stables so far away from the dwellings that it would be, at least,
a longer trip for Mr. Fly from the barnyard to the dining-table and
back again!

The Board of Selectmen, stirred by Mr. Cross Moore and others, cleaned
the gutters of High Street and used the scraper on the drive itself
fully two months earlier than usual. Sidewalks were rebuilt, and many
painted tree boxes appeared along the main street to save the remainder
of the tree trunks from the teeth of crib-biting horses.

Before most of the shops--the general stores particularly--were
hitch-rails. Many of these were renewed; some e