then, smoothing his conduct, he introduced him, with
impressive ceremony.

"Yes, sir," said the old man, sitting down and looking about, "he got
away from us a little the rise of a year ago, and I don't think Fox
Grove has been the same since then; and it is a generally accepted
fact that the children don't learn more than half as much. Me and
Jimmie and Lige agreed on this point, and that settled it so far as
the community was concerned. And Sammy, we hear that you have got to
be a great lawyer. A man came through our county not long ago and
boasted of knowing you, and a lawyer must amount to a good deal when
folks go about boasting that they know him. And look here, my wife
read a piece out of the paper about you--yes, sir, read it off just
like she was a talkin'; and when she was done I 'lowed that maybe,
after all, you hadn't done such an unwise thing to throw yourself
headlong into the excitement of this town. And mother she said that no
matter where a man went, he could still find the Lord if he looked
about in the right way, and I didn't dispute her, but just kept on a
sittin' there, a wallopin' my tobacco about in my mouth. Yes, sir; I
am powerful tickled to see you."

Long before he had reached the end of his harangue, Warren had taken
hold of his arm. "It was my paper your wife read it in," he said in
tones as solemn as grace over meat. "I am the editor of the paper,
and two dollars will get it every week for a year."

The old man shrugged himself out of the editor's imploring clasp, and
looked at him. "Why," said he, "you don't appear to be more than old
enough to have just come out of the tobacco patch, a picking off
worms, along with the turkeys. But, in the excitement of the town,
boys, I take it, are mighty smart. However, my son, I ain't got any
particular use for a paper, except to have a piece read out of it once
in awhile, but I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll agree to print
some pieces that Sammy will write for you, I'll take your paper. He
was always a writin' and a tearin' it up when he boarded with me, and
I was sorry to see him wastin' his labor in that way when he mout have
been out in the woods shootin' squirrels; so if you'll agree----"

"I print his sketches every week, and some of them have been stolen by
the big city papers," the editor cried, unable longer to restrain
himself.

"Then I didn't know what I was missin'. Two dollars, you say? Well;
here you are, sir, and now you just