hey were a han'some
couple, an' together about half the time.

"Well, Sam began to aspire, an' nothing would do for Lizzie but the
Smythe school at Hardcastle at seven hundred dollars a year. So
they rigged her up splendid, an' away she went. Prom that day she
set the pace for this community. Dan had to keep up with Lizzie,
and so his father, Bill Pettigrew, sent him to Harvard. Other
girls started in the race, an' the first we knew there was a big
field in this maiden handicap.

"Well, Sam had been aspirin' for about three months, when he began
to perspire. The extras up at Hardcastle had exceeded his
expectations. He was goin' a hot pace to keep up with Lizzie, an'
it looked as if his morals was meltin' away.

"I was in the northern part o' the county one day, an' saw some
wonderful, big, red, tasty apples.

"'What ye doin' with yer apples?' says I to the grower.

"'I've sent the most of 'em to Samuel Henshaw, o' Pointview, an'
he's sold 'em on commission,' says he.

"'What do ye get for 'em ?' I asked.

"'Two dollars an' ten cents a barrel,' says he.

"The next time I went into Sam's store there were the same red
apples that came out o' that orchard in the northern part o' the
county.

"'How much are these apples?' I says.

"'Seven dollars a barrel,' says Sam.

[Illustration: Seven dollars a barrel.]

"'How is it that you get seven dollars a barrel an' only return two
dollars an' ten cents to the grower?' I says.

"Sam stuttered an' changed color. I'd been his lawyer for years,
an' I always talked plain to Sam.

"'Wal, the fact is,' says he, with a laugh an' a wink, 'I sold
these apples to my clerk.'

"'Sam, ye're wastin' yer talents,' I says. 'Go into the railroad
business.'

"Sam was kind o' shamefaced.

"'It costs so much to live I have to make a decent profit
somewhere,' says he. 'If you had a daughter to educate, you'd know
the reason.'

"I bought a bill o' goods, an' noticed that ham an' butter were up
two cents a pound, an' flour four cents a sack, an' other things in
proportion. I didn't say a word, but I see that Sam proposed to
tax the community for the education o' that Lizzie girl. Folks
began to complain, but the tax on each wasn't heavy, an' a good
many people owed Sam an' wasn't in shape to quit him. Then Sam had
the best store in the village, an' everybody was kind o' proud of
it. So we stood this assessment o' Sam's, an' by a general tax
paid for the education o