s wife
had saved from her boarders, and the barber immediately resolved to
invest every cent he had in the United Fuel. Such was Captain
Carroll's graciousness and urbanity that he idled away an hour in the
barber-shop, and the other men melted away, although reluctantly,
from an atmosphere of such effulgence. The milkman's hollow stomach
drove him home for his breakfast. Little Willy Eddy thought uneasily
of his Minna, and took his departure. The postmaster had a Sunday
mail to sort. And Amidon went out to get a drink of beer; Carroll's
cigar had dried his throat. Carroll was shaven last, and Flynn did
his best by him, even unto a new jar of cold cream, double the
quantity of witch-hazel, and a waste of powder. Then after he had
carefully adjusted his hat, and was at last about to go, Flynn
stopped him.

"Beg your pardon, sir," said he, "but--"

"But what?" said Carroll, rather kindly.

The barber's lip was actually quivering. The magnitude and importance
of what he was about to propose almost affected his weakly emotional
nature to tears.

He finally made out to say, while tears were actually rolling down
his cheeks under Carroll's puzzled regard, that he had $1000 which he
had saved, and he would like to invest every penny of it in United
Fuel. And before Carroll knew what he was at, he had actually
produced $1000 in a bulky roll of much-befingered notes, from some
hiding-place, and was waving them before Carroll's eyes.

"Here," said he, "here is the money. You may as well take it now. You
can get the securities in New York to-morrow, and bring them out on
the train. Here is the money. Take it."

Arthur Carroll did not move to take the money. He stood looking at
the excited man with a curious expression. In fact, his face seemed
to reflect the emotion of the barber's. His voice was a trifle husky.

"Is that all you have saved?" he asked.

"Every dollar," replied the barber, continuing to wave and thrust the
bills, but he raised an edge of his apron to his eyes, overflowing
with the stupendousness of it. "Every dollar. I might have saved
more, but I've been laid up winters considerable with grippe, and
folks don't like to be shaved by a grippy barber. Dunno's I blame
'em. I've had to hire, and hirin' comes high. I've had considerable
to do for a widder with four children, too--she's my brother's
widder--an', take it all together, I 'ain't been able to save another
dollar. But that don't make no odds, as lo