-law was sayin' last
Sunday in the pulpit about this yer peace and goodwill 'twixt man and
man."

Mrs. Price looked again at the man before her. His sallow, perplexed
face exhibited some doubt, yet a certain determination, regarding
the prospect the quotation had opened to him. "A very good idea, Mr.
Spindler, and one that does you great credit," she said gravely.

"I'm mighty glad to hear you say so, Mrs. Price," he said, with an
accent of great relief, "for I reckoned to ask you a great favor! You
see," he fell into his former hesitation, "that is--the fact is--that
this sort o' thing is rather suddent to me,--a little outer my line,
don't you see, and I was goin' to ask ye ef you'd mind takin' the hull
thing in hand and runnin it for me."

"Running it for you," said Mrs. Price, with a quick eye-shot from under
the edge of her lashes. "Man alive! What are you thinking of?"

"Bossin' the whole job for me," hurried on Spindler, with nervous
desperation. "Gettin' together all the things and makin' ready for
'em,--orderin' in everythin' that's wanted, and fixin' up the rooms,--I
kin step out while you're doin' it,--and then helpin' me receivin' 'em,
and sittin' at the head o' the table, you know,--like ez ef you was the
mistress."

"But," said Mrs. Price, with her frank laugh, "that's the duty of one of
your relations,--your niece, for instance,--or cousin, if one of them is
a woman."

"But," persisted Spindler, "you see, they're strangers to me; I don't
know 'em, and I do you. You'd make it easy for 'em,--and for me,--don't
you see? Kinder introduce 'em,--don't you know? A woman of your gin'ral
experience would smooth down all them little difficulties," continued
Spindler, with a vague recollection of the Kansas story, "and put
everybody on velvet. Don't say 'No,' Mrs. Price! I'm just kalkilatin' on
you."

Sincerity and persistency in a man goes a great way with even the best
of women. Mrs. Price, who had at first received Spindler's request as an
amusing originality, now began to incline secretly towards it. And, of
course, began to suggest objections.

"I'm afraid it won't do," she said thoughtfully, awakening to the fact
that it would do and could be done. "You see, I've promised to spend
Christmas at Sacramento with my nieces from Baltimore. And then there's
Mrs. Saltover and my sister to consult."

But here Spindler's simple face showed such signs of distress that the
widow declared she would "think it o