our again." When he had gorged
himself for two days, he wired Bemis to come to the Ridge, and Barclay
and Bemis sat on the dam one evening until late bedtime, considering
many things. As they talked, Barclay found that a plan for the
reorganization of the Provisions Company was growing in his mind, and
he talked it out as it grew.

"Lige," he said, as he leaned with his elbows on a rock behind him,
"the trouble with the company as it now stands is that it's too
palpable. There's too much to levy on--too much in sight; too much
physical property. How would it do to sell all these mills and
elevators, and use the company as a kind of a cream skimmer--a profit
shop--to market the products of the mills?" He paused a moment, and
Bemis, who knew he was not expected to reply, flipped pebbles into the
stream. Barclay changed his position slightly and began to pick stones
out of the crevices, and throw the stones into the water. "That's the
thing to do--go ahead and sell every dollar's worth of assets the
company's got--I'll take the mill here. I couldn't get along without
that. Then we'll buy the products of the mills at cost of the millers,
and let them get their profits back as individual holders of our
stock. Our company will handle the Door Strip--buy it and sell
it--and if any long-nosed reformer gets to snooping around the mills,
he'll find they are making only a living profit; and as for us--any
state grain commissioner or board of commissioners who wanted to
examine us could do so, and what'd he find? Simply that we're buying
our products at cost of the millers and selling at the market
price--sometimes at a loss, sometimes at a profit; and what if we do
handle all the grain and grain products in the United States? They
can't show that we are hurting anything. I tell you there's getting to
be too much snooping now in the state and federal governments. Have
you got any fellow in your office who can fix up a charter that will
let us buy and sell grain, and also sell the Barclay Economy Strip?"

Bemis nodded.

"Then, damn 'em, let 'em go on with their commissioners and boards and
legislative committees; they can't catch us. There's no law against
the railroads that ship our stuff buying the Economy Door Strip, is
there? You bet there isn't. And we're entitled to a good round
inventor's profit, ain't we? You bet we are. You go ahead and get up
that reorganization, and I'll put it through. Say, Lige--" Barclay
chuckled a