ascow was mistaken: she did not take it, having the idea that he
would soon conclude that it would be wiser for him to read it than to
let it stand idly on the shelf.

"It would serve them both right," said Mr. Tolman to himself, "if
somebody else should come and take it." But there was no one else
among his subscribers who would even think of such a thing.

One day, however, the young lady came in and asked to look at the book.
"Don't think that I am going to take it out," she said, noticing Mr.
Tolman's look of pleasure as he handed her the volume. "I only wish to
see what he says on a certain subject which I am studying now." And so
she sat down by the stove on the chair which Mr. Tolman placed for her,
and opened "Dormstock."

She sat earnestly poring over the book for half an hour or more, and
then she looked up and said: "I really cannot make out what this part
means. Excuse my troubling you, but I would be very glad if you would
explain the latter part of this passage."

"Me!" exclaimed Mr. Tolman. "Why, my good madam,--miss, I mean,--I
couldn't explain it to you if it were to save my life. But what page
is it?" said he, looking at his watch.

"Page twenty-four," answered the young lady.

"Oh, well, then," said he, "if you can wait ten or fifteen minutes, the
gentleman who has had the book will be here, and I think he can explain
anything in the first part of the work."

The young lady seemed to hesitate whether to wait or not; but as she
had a certain curiosity to see what sort of a person he was who had
been so absorbed in the book, she concluded to sit a little longer and
look into some other parts of the volume.

The night druggist soon came in, and when Mr. Tolman introduced him to
the lady, he readily agreed to explain the passage to her if he could.
So Mr. Tolman got him a chair from the inner room, and he also sat down
by the stove.

The explanation was difficult, but it was achieved at last, and then
the young lady broached the subject of leaving the book unused. This
was discussed for some time, but came to nothing, although Mr. Tolman
put down his afternoon paper and joined in the argument, urging, among
other points, that as the matter now stood he was deprived by the
dead-lock of all income from the book. But even this strong argument
proved of no avail.

"Then I will tell you what I wish you would do," said Mr. Tolman, as
the young lady rose to go: "come here and look at the boo