you was to go back to it,
this last five years 'd git to be that way to ye a good deal quicker.
Don't ye think so?"

"Perhaps so," replied John. "Yes," he added thoughtfully, "it is
possible."

"I guess on the hull, though," remarked Mr. Harum, "you done better up
here in the country 'n you might some 'ers else--"

"Oh, yes," said John sincerely, "thanks to you, I have indeed, and--"

"--an'--ne' mind about me--you got quite a little bunch o' money
together now. I was thinkin' 't mebbe you might feel 't you needn't to
stay here no longer if you didn't want to."

The young man turned to the speaker inquiringly, but Mr. Harum's face
was straight to the front, and betrayed nothing.

"It wouldn't be no more 'n natural," he went on, "an' mebbe it would be
best for ye. You're too good a man to spend all your days workin' fer
Dave Harum, an' I've had it in my mind fer some time--somethin' like
that pork deal--to make you a little independent in case anythin' should
happen, an'--gen'ally. I couldn't give ye no money 'cause you wouldn't
'a' took it even if I'd wanted to, but now you got it, why----"

"I feel very much as if you had given it to me," protested the young
man.

David put up his hand. "No, no," he said, "all 't I did was to propose
the thing to ye, an' to put up a little money fer two three days. I
didn't take no chances, an' it's all right, an' it's your'n, an' it
makes ye to a certain extent independent of Homeville."

"I don't quite see it so," said John.

"Wa'al," said David, turning to him, "if you'd had as much five years
ago you wouldn't 'a' come here, would ye?"

John was silent.

"What I was leadin' up to," resumed Mr. Harum after a moment, "is this:
I ben thinkin' about it fer some time, but I haven't wanted to speak to
ye about it before. In fact, I might 'a' put it off some longer if
things wa'n't as they are, but the fact o' the matter is that I'm goin'
to take down my sign."

John looked at him in undisguised amazement, not unmixed with
consternation.

"Yes," said David, obviously avoiding the other's eye, "'David Harum,
Banker,' is goin' to come down. I'm gettin' to be an' old man," he went
on, "an' what with some investments I've got, an' a hoss-trade once in a
while, I guess I c'n manage to keep the fire goin' in the kitchin stove
fer Polly an' me, an' the' ain't no reason why I sh'd keep my sign up
much of any longer. Of course," he said, "if I was to go on as I be now
I'd want ye