I want to talk about, though,
before they know you're actually here. Walk along with me a little
way."

On, back, down Main Street, walked Jack with his father, until they
came to what was now labeled Bridge Street. When Jack lived in
Crofield the road had no name.

"See that store on the corner?" asked Mr. Ogden. "It's a fine-looking
store, isn't it?"

"Very," said Jack.

"Well, now," said his father, "I'm going to run that store, and I do
wish you were to be in it with me."

"There will be none too much room in it for Bob and Jim," said Jack.
"They're growing up, you know!"

"You listen to me," continued the tall blacksmith, trying to be calm.
"The railway company paid me quite a snug sum of money for what they
needed of your land and mine. Mr. Magruder did it for you. I bought
with the money thirty acres of land, just across the Cocahutchie, to
the left of the bridge. Half of it was yours to begin with, and now
I've traded you the other half. Don't speak. Listen to me. Most of
it was rocky, but the railway company opened a quarry on it, getting
out their stone, and it's paying handsomely. Livermore has built that
hotel block. I put in the stone and our old house lot, and I own the
corner store, except that Livermore can use the upper stories for his
hotel. The factory company traded me ten shares of their stock for
part of your land on which they built. I traded that stock for ten
acres of rocky land along the road, across the Cocahutchie, up by the
mill. That makes forty acres there."

"Father!" exclaimed Jack. "All it cost me was catching a runaway team,
and your bill against the miller! Crofield is better than the grocery
business in New York!"

"Listen!" said his father, smiling. "The tannery company traded me a
lot of their stock for the rest of my back lot and for the rest of your
gravel, and they tore down the blacksmith shop, and I traded their
stock and some other things for the house where we live. I made your
part good to you, with the land across the creek, and that's where the
new village of Crofield is to be."

"I didn't see a cent of money in any of those trades, but I've a
thousand dollars laid up, and I'm only working in the railroad shop
now, but I'm going into the hardware business. I wish you'd come back
and come in with me. There's the store--rent free. We can sell plenty
of tools, now that Crofield is booming!"

"I've saved up seven hundred and fifty dollars,"