t up and held his pipe away from his face so that no
smoke-cloud could intervene.

"Do you mean to tell me," he raved, "that you've gone to work and
pinned me into the same yoke with that long-legged cross between a
blue heron and a monkey-wrench that started this whole infernal
treasury steal?"

"Consetena--" began Hiram.

The Cap'n dashed his clay pipe upon the brick hearth and ground the
bits under his heel.

"I ain't any hand to make love to Portygee sailors," he cried; "I
don't believe I could stand it to hold one on my knee more'n half
an hour at a time. I don't like a dude. I hate a land-pirut lawyer.
But a critter I've al'ays reckoned I'd kill on sight is a grown man
that writes portry and lets his folks support him. I've heard of that
Concert--whatever his name is--Tate. I ain't ever wanted to see him.
I've been afraid of what might happen if I did. Him and me run this
thing together? Say, look here, Hiram! You say a few more things like
that to me and I shall reckon you're tryin' to give me apoplexy and
get rid of me that way!"

Hiram sighed. His car of hopes so laboriously warped to the top summit
of success had been sluiced to the bottom. But he understood the
temper of the populace of Smyrna in those piping days better than
Cap'n Sproul did. Consetena Tate was not to be put aside with a wave
of the hand.

Hiram began again. At first he talked to deaf ears. He even had to
drown out contumely. But his arguments were good! Consetena Tate
could write the many letters that would be necessary. There were many
organizations to invite to town, many prominent citizens of the
county to solicit, for the day would not shine without the presence
of notables. There was all the work of that sort to be done with the
delicate touch of the literary man--work that the Cap'n could not
do. Mr. Tate had earned the position--at least the folks in town
thought he had--and demanded him as the man through whom they could
accomplish all epistolary effects.

In the end Hiram won the Cap'n over even to this concession. The Cap'n
was too weary to struggle farther against what seemed to be his horrid
destiny.

"I'll have him at town office to-morrow mornin'," declared Hiram,
grabbing at the first growl that signified submission. "You'll find
him meek and humble and helpful--I know you will." Then he promptly
hurried away before the Cap'n revived enough to change his mind.

Cap'n Sproul found his new secretary on the steps of