it
turned out so. Now it's over I can see that I shouldn't have had a happy
hour with her, and that with such an ugly, lazy hussy no amount of money
would make a man happy. I can't understand what I was thinking of. But I
don't want to stay. The son-in-law is always there, wants to start
running things, and swindles the mistress wherever he can, so that I
can't bear to see it; and I won't take orders from him."

"But what do you want?" asked Johannes.

"That's just what I'd like to talk to you about," said Uli. "I could get
places enough; I could go to their son, too, and he'd give me as much
pay as I wanted. But I don't know; being a servant isn't exactly
unsatisfactory, but it seems to me that, if I want to start out for
myself, now's the time. I'm in the thirties, and almost beginning to get
old."

"Oh, that's it!" said Johannes. "Have you got marrying into your head?"

"Not especially," said Uli. "But if I'm going to marry it ought to be
soon, and a man ought to start for himself, too, while he's still
active. But I don't know what to do. I haven't enough for anything worth
while, for what's two thousand francs to make a decent start with? I
keep thinking about what you said, that you can't get the rent out of a
little farm, and that a leaseholder can't very well take over a big
place unless he has money in hand, and still he'll be ruined on a little
one."

"Ho," said Johannes, "two thousand francs is something, and there's
farms here and there with the stock all on 'em, where you can get the
stock too on appraisal, so that you could keep your cash in hand for
your own dealings, and then if you needed more you'd probably find folks
that had money."

"Yes, but they won't give it to me. If a man wants money he's got to
have good security, or guarantors, and where'd he get 'em?"

"Well, Uli," said Johannes, "that's just what I told you: a good name is
good security. Fifteen years ago I wouldn't have lent you fifteen cents;
but today, if you need two or three thousand francs, you can have 'em on
a simple note; or if you want me to indorse your note, just say so. What
are folks in the world for if not to help each other?"

"That's good news," said Uli; "I wouldn't have dared to think of that;
and if I knew of anything, I'd take right hold."

"I wouldn't," said Johannes. "I'd go looking for a wife first, and then
when I had one I'd make my start. Lots of men have been ruined before
now, only because their wive