"I guess I'd rather stick to my job on the _March Hare_!" exclaimed
Paul.

"I imagine it is quite big enough for you at present," smiled his
father. "Between the public, and the printer, and the bookbinder the
publisher is torn in many directions. And then there is the author, who,
as I say, does not like his text tampered with. Firms differ greatly
about this. Some publishers feel perfectly justified in going ahead and
remodeling a writer's work to suit themselves; others regard an author's
manuscript as a sacred possession and never change so much as a
punctuation mark on it without asking permission. They may suggest
changes but they will not make them. It is a point of honor with them
not to do so."

Mr. Cameron smoked reflectively.

"Authors, however," he went on, "are not as badly off as they were
before they had the copyright. Their stories can no longer be stolen
with impunity as in the past. They are better paid, too. Many an
olden-time author received very scant remuneration for his labor;
sometimes he received none at all. Many had to beg the patronage of the
rich in order to get their works printed; contracts were unfair and
publishers unprincipled. The unfortunate author was the prey of vultures
who cheated him at every turn. Many died in extreme poverty, only to
become famous when it was too late. In our day the law has
revolutionized most of these injustices, and although there are still
unprincipled publishers as there are always scamps in every calling, the
best class houses deal honorably with their writers, transforming the
relation between author and publisher into one of friendliness and
confidence rather than one of animosity and distrust."

"I suppose it is policy for a publisher to be fair."

"It is more than policy; it is honesty," returned Mr. Cameron. "It does,
however, pay, for without the writer the publisher could not exist, and
no writer is going to put his work in the hands of a person he cannot
trust. It is a short-sighted man who kills the goose that lays the
golden egg!"

CHAPTER IX

PAUL EMBARKS ON ANOTHER VENTURE

"Do you know, Dad, the _March Hare_ is rapidly turning into an
elephant," announced Paul to his father one morning not long after the
conversation of the previous chapter. "I am having more and more copy to
prepare for Mr. Carter all the time, and am doing every bit of it by
hand. It takes hours to get it ready. I'm beginning to think I ought to
have