provided. That everlastin' Cherub
tomcat of Taylor's must have sneaked in with the boy when he
brought the order from the store. When I shut the steak up in the
back room I--er--er--hum. . . ."

"You did what?"

"Eh? . . . Oh, I shut the cat up with it. I guess likely that's
the end of the yarn, ain't it?"

"Pretty nearly, I should say. What did you do to the cat?"

"Hum. . . . Why, I let him go. He's a good enough cat, 'cordin' to
his lights, I guess. It must have been a treat to him; I doubt if
he gets much steak at home. . . . Well, do you want to give Isaiah
a whirl on that decision you say you've got to make?"

Charles gave him a quick glance. "I didn't say I had one to make,"
he replied. "I asked how you settled such a question, that's all."

"Um. . . . I see. . . . I see. Well, the prophet's at your
disposal. Help yourself."

The young fellow shook his head. "I'm afraid it wouldn't be very
satisfactory," he said. "He might say no when I wanted him to say
yes, you see."

"Um-hm. . . . He's liable to do that. When he does it to me I
keep on spinnin' him till we agree, that's all."

Phillips made no comment on this illuminating statement and there
was another interval of silence, broken only by the hum and rasp of
the turning lathe. Then he spoke again.

"Jed," he said, "seriously now, when a big question comes up to
you, and you've got to answer it one way or the other, how do you
settle with yourself which way to answer?"

Jed sighed. "That's easy, Charlie," he declared. "There don't any
big questions ever come up to me. I ain't the kind of feller the
big things come to."

Charles grunted, impatiently. "Oh, well, admitting all that," he
said, "you must have to face questions that are big to you, that
seem big, anyhow."

Jed could not help wincing, just a little. The matter-of-fact way
in which his companion accepted the estimate of his insignificance
was humiliating. Jed did not blame him, it was true, of course,
but the truth hurt--a little. He was ashamed of himself for
feeling the hurt.

"Oh," he drawled, "I do have some things--little no-account things--
to decide every once in a while. Sometimes they bother me, too--
although they probably wouldn't anybody with a head instead of a
Hubbard squash on his shoulders. The only way I can decide 'em is
to set down and open court, put 'em on trial, as you might say."

"What do you mean?"

"Why, I call in witnesses fo