Ed says no; this is far enough to tell him for his own good not to be
such a bore; an' Ben says how is he a bore?

"A bore?" says Ed. "Why, for forty-eight hours you ain't been able to
talk about anything but that stale old accident of mine, and you got me
so sick of it I could jump on you every time you begin. You got everybody
in the party sick of it. Don't you see how they all try to get away from
you? For the Lord's sake, can't you think up something else to talk about
now and then--at least for five minutes, just to give your silly chatter
a little different flavour? I never been so sick of anything in my life
as I am of this everlasting prattle of yours about something that was
over and forgotten fifteen long years ago! What's got into you to keep
dragging that accident up out of the dead past that way? Anyway, you
better cut it out. I have to listen because you're my cousin; but these
officials don't. Your next pay check is liable to be your last on this
road if you don't think up some other kind of gossip. Darned if it don't
seem like you had been getting weak-minded in your old age!"

Ben had got his bearings by this time. He apologized warmly to Ed; he
said it was true this magnificent catastrophe had lately taken possession
of his mind, but now that he finds Ed is so sensitive about it he'll try
to keep it out of his talk, and he hopes Ed won't cherish hard feelings
against him.

Ed says no, he won't cherish anything if Ben will only quit his loathsome
gushing about the accident; and Ben says he will quit. And so they shook
hands on it.

That's the way the feud ended. The champion grudge hoarder of the
universe had been dosed to a finish with his own medicine. It showed Ben
has a weakness for diplomacy; kind of an iron hand in a velvet glove, or
something.

Ed is still a nut, though. There was a piece in a Sunday paper not long
ago about this new mining millionaire. He spoke some noble words to the
youth of our land. He said young American manhood could still make its
fortune in this glorious country of opportunity by strict attention to
industry and good habits and honest dealing and native pluck--him that
had had these mules forced on him in the first place, and then his
interest in this claim forced on him for the mules, and then hadn't
been able to get shut of the claim. Ain't it lovely how men will dig up
a license to give themselves all credit for hog luck they couldn't help!

Ma Pettengill busi