pocket. 'Have one?' says he, passin' it
toward Mr. Williams. 'No? Too soon after breakfast, I s'pose. Why do
I turn off?' he goes on. 'Well, I'll tell you. I'm goin' to stay right
aboard my shack while it's movin', and it's so much pleasanter a ride up
the hill that I thought I'd go that way. I always envied them who could
afford a house on the Boulevard, and now I've got the chance to have one
there--for a spell. I'm sartin I shall enjoy it.'

"The foreman growled, disgusted. Mr. Williams got redder yet.

"'Don't you understand?' he snorts. 'You're blockin' the way of the
house I'M movin'. I have capable men with adequate apparatus to move
it, and they would be able to go twice as fast as your one-horse country
outfit. You're blockin' the road. Now they must follow you. It's an
outrage!'

"Cap'n Sol smiled once more. 'Too bad,' says he. 'It's a pity such
a nice street ain't wider. If it was my street in my town--I b'lieve
that's what you call East Harniss, ain't it?--seems to me I'd widen it.'

"The boss of 'my town' ground his heel into the sand. 'Berry,' he snaps,
'are you goin' to move that house over the Boulevard ahead of mine?'

"The Cap'n looked him square in the eye. 'Williams,' says he, 'I am.'

"The millionaire turned short and started to go.

"'You'll pay for it,' he snarls, his temper gettin' free at last.

"'I cal'late to,' purrs the Cap'n. 'I gen'rally do pay for what I want,
and a fair price, at that. I never bought in cheap mortgages and held
'em for clubs over poor folks, never in my life. Good mornin'.'

"And right to Mr. Williams's own face, too," concluded Issy. "WHAT do
you think of that?"

Here was defiance of authority and dignity, a sensation which should
have racked East Harniss from end to end. But most of the men in the
village, the tradespeople particularly, had another matter on their
minds, namely, Major Cuthbertson Scott Hardee, of "Silverleaf Hall." The
Major and his debts were causing serious worriment.

The creditors of the Major met, according to agreement, on the Monday
evening following their previous gathering at the club. Obed Gott, one
of the first to arrive, greeted his fellow members with an air of gloomy
triumph and a sort of condescending pity.

Higgins, the "general store" keeper, acting as self-appointed chairman,
asked if anyone had anything to report. For himself, he had seen the
Major and asked point-blank for payment of his bill. The Major had been
very pol