ome scale, and never failed to invite her less
fortunate sisters to her large and select parties--she was, in a word,
a most superior person, and a devout church-member. To this lady Ajax
made himself mightily agreeable.

"Now really," said she, "I do wish the doctor was here. He does so
dearly love badinage. That, and bridgework, is his forte."

"And why isn't he here?" demanded my brother.

"He's hunting our bay mare. It broke out of the barn this morning. I
told him that I wouldn't disappoint Alviry for an ark full of bay
mares. I knew she would count on me to help her entertain you
gentlemen."

"I hope your husband will find his mare," said Ajax. "We lost fifteen
fat steers once, but we never found them."

"That's so," observed Mr. Swiggart. "And I wore myself out a-hunting
'em. They was stolen--sure."

"The wickedness of some folk passes my understanding," remarked Mrs.
Tapper. "Well, we're told that the triumphing of the wicked is short,
but--good Land!--Job never lived in this State."

"He'd been more to home in New England," said Laban slily. The Skenks
were from Massachusetts, the Swiggarts from Illinois.

"There's a pit digged for such," continued Mrs. Tapper, ignoring the
interruption, "a pit full o' brimstone and fire. Yes, sister, I will
take one more slice of the ham. I never ate sweeter meat. Eastern, I
presume, my dear?"

"No, sister. Laban cured that ham. Pork-packing was his trade back
east."

Laban added: "Boys, I hope ye like that ham. I've a reason for
asking."

We assured our host that the ham was superlatively good. Mince and
pumpkin pies followed, coffee, then grace. As we rose from the table,
Laban said pleasantly, "Boys, here are some imported cigars. We'll
smoke outside."

Having, so to speak, soaped the ways, Mr. Swiggart launched his
"proposition." He wished to pack bacon. Hogs, he pointed out, were
selling at two cents a pound; bacon and hams at twelve and fifteen
cents. We had some two hundred and fifty hogs ready for market. These
Laban wanted to buy on credit. He proposed to turn them into lard,
hams, and bacon, to sell the same to local merchants (thereby saving
cost of transportation), and to divide the profits with us after the
original price of the hogs was paid. This seemed a one-sided bargain.
He was to do all the work; we should, in any case, get the market
price for the hogs, while the profits were to be divided. However, our
host explained that we took all the r