ng' signs," said Patty
easily. "You'd never get anywhere in this world if you let _them_ bother
you."

The man unexpectedly chuckled.

"I don't believe you would!" he agreed. "I've never let them bother me,"
he added meditatively.

"Can't I help you plant your onions?" Patty asked politely. It struck
her that this might be the quickest route to the Italian garden.

"Why, yes, thank you!"

He accepted her offer with unexpected cordiality, and gravely explained
the mode of work. The onions were very tiny, and they must be set
right-side up with great care; because it is very difficult for an
embryonic onion to turn itself over after it has once got started in the
wrong direction.

Patty grasped the business very readily, and followed along in the next
row three feet behind him. It turned out sociable work; by the end of
fifteen minutes they were quite old friends. The talk ranged far--over
philosophy and life and morals. He had a very decided opinion on every
subject--she put him down as Scotch--he seemed a well-informed old
fellow though, and he read the papers. Patty had also read the paper
that morning. She discoursed at some length upon whether or not
corporations should be subject to state control. She stoutly agreed with
her editor that they should. He maintained that they were like any other
private property, and that it was nobody's damned business how they
managed themselves.

"A penny, please," said Patty, holding out her hand.

"A penny?--what for?"

"That 'damn.' Every time you use slang or bad grammar you have to drop a
penny in the charity box. 'Damn' is much worse than slang; it's
swearing. I ought to charge you five cents, but since this is the first
offense, I'll let you off with one."

He handed over his penny, and Patty gravely pocketed it.

"What sort of things do you learn in that school?" he inquired with a
show of curiosity.

She obligingly furnished a sample:

"The perimeters of similar polygons are as their homologous sides."

"You will find that useful," he commented with the suggestion of a
twinkle in his eye.

"Very," she agreed--"on examination day."

After half an hour, onion-planting grew to be wearying work; but Patty
was bound to be game, and stick to her job as long as he did. Finally,
however, the last onion was in, and the gardener rose and viewed the
neat rows with some satisfaction.

"That will do for to-day," he declared; "we've earned a rest."

They sat down