ut thet
mewel. They'll say he's a powerful kicker," and Lin laughed despite
herself.

"Why, fur weeks after Joe Sandford got into thet fix with his wall-paper
show clothes folks would laff when I went into meetin'. I could tell
what they wus thinkin' uf the minnit they'd smile. Un the wust part uf
hit is I went over to Mrs. Todd's an' we cried fur two hours. Mrs.
Todd's brother got kicked in the spinel string (cord) with a mewel an'
he died the same nite. He never moved after he wus kicked. He wus
ossified from head to fut."

Alfred laughed. Lin corrected herself by saying: "Thet's what Mrs. Todd
sed ailed him, but I knowed she meant 'palsified'."

Alfred again laughed. Lin knew she had made a mistake; she was sensitive
and it nettled her to notice the smile on Alfred's face. In tones quite
testy she advised him to "hold his laff 'til he could feel hit. Ye
needn't git so peart, ye hain't out of danger yit, ye're liable to have
anuther collapse or sumthin' else. Ye'll never look as white aroun' the
gills when ye're laid out in them linen sheets ye stole fur yer show."

Lin "wondered what gran'muther would say when she heard of his
'sickness'." At the word "sickness" Lin winked with both eyes.

"I'll bet a fip Uncle Ned will say: 'Well, he's another notch nearer
hell.'"

Alfred did not consider the reference to Uncle Ned, but grandmother came
up in his mind and he determined to go to the old lady and tell her the
whole truth. And this he did and, instead of condemnation, he received
advice that strengthened him in avoiding many of the same sort of
pitfalls thereafter.

The tin cup incident ended Alfred's connection with the tan-yard but
Alfred never regretted his experience. The work was most health-giving
and muscle developing. The examples of industry and integrity learned
from Sammy Steele have been a guiding post in the life of the boy.
Alfred had not been in his employ long until he was permitted to
conduct small trades with the customers who visited the tannery.

One day a highly respected farmer brought in a hide. Alfred weighed the
hide and figured up the amount due the farmer when Mr. Steele entered
the room, passing the compliments of the day with the farmer. The hide
was spread out on the table. The tanner folded it over as if to
ascertain if it had been damaged in the skinning process. At the first
touch of the hide he looked into the farmer's face, and in a careless
tone, asked:

"Been killing a b