't think Mr. Edward would try to
cut me out, do you? He might, you know; an', bein' older an' with more
learnin', he would have the start of me."

"I do not think that Mr. Edward has any ambition to be President, Jim,"
I answered, reassuringly. "You need have no fear of him."

For to no less a height than this did Jim's ambition soar, and he had
full faith that he should in time attain thereto. In his opinion, the
day would surely come when,--

"The Father of his country's shoes
No feet would fit but his'n."

And it was with a single eye to this that his rules of life were
conformed. The reforms which he intended to institute, mostly in the
interest of boys of his own age and social standing, when he should
have attained to that dignity, were marvellous and startling. No
autocrat of all the Russias, no sultan, was ever endowed with the
irresponsible powers which Jim believed to appertain to the position he
coveted; but, to his credit be it said, these were to be exercised by
him more for the benefit of others than for himself.

But he repudiated, now, the idea that the peanut venture upon which his
mind was dwelling had any thing to do with his future honors.

"Brother Edward would not be so mean to you, Jim," quoth Allie, who was
standing by my knee. "You spoke first to be President, and he would
never do such a thing as to take it from you."

"And Jim is not thinking about that when he tries to find out that
sum," said Daisy, raising her little bandaged head from my shoulder;
"he is quite nice and pious, sister Amy, and wants to do a very right
thing."

"'Tain't for pious, neither, Miss Daisy," said Jim, who rather resented
the imputation of being influenced by motives of that nature. "'Tain't
none of your doin' good to folks, nor any of that kind of thing; it's
on'y to animals, cause I'm sorry for 'em."

"O Jim, what grammar!" sighed Allie. For Jim, when excited or specially
interested, was apt to lapse into the vernacular against which he and
his friends were striving; Allie in particular setting her face against
it, and constituting herself his instructress and monitress in grammar
and style.

"Can't help it, Miss Allie," said Jim. "Can't keep grammar an'
'rithmetic into my head both to once; leastways, not when the
'rithmetic's such a hard one as this."

The excuse was accepted as valid; and Jim and the matter which was now
agitating his mind, both being at present in high favor and held in