Great sins always have a beginning; the first attempts to do evil are
not hard to check if taken in time, but if allowed to be carried out, it
is impossible to tell what the results may be. How sad it was that John
and his cousins did not have someone to check them!

The boys now decided to keep close watch, and to avail themselves of
every opportunity to procure tobacco, even if they were forced to steal
it. The word "steal" had, of course, a certain horror to John because
of the picture his aunt had described of a prison and a thief; but he
soothed his conscience by saying, "There isn't anything else in the
world except tobacco that I would think of stealing." But the stealing
habit, like the tobacco habit, continues to grow stronger, unless it
is in some way broken. As tobacco contains a poison that affects the
physical being, so in a similar manner lying and stealing have a ruinous
effect upon the moral nature. The three--lying, stealing, and tobacco
using--too often go hand in hand.

The first effort of the boys to secure the much-coveted tobacco was made
one day when they, while roaming about over the prairie, discovered a
man hard at work in a field. The man seemed to be lifting something that
was very heavy, and Will suggested to the boys that they go and lend
their services provided the man would give them each a chew of his
tobacco in return; and Will did not forget to add that they must each
take as generous a bite as their mouths could accommodate. The man was
glad to accept their help; and together with his own efforts, the work
was soon finished. Then, in fulfillment of his agreement, he handed them
his plug of tobacco that they might each take the "chew" he had promised
them.

According to Will's suggestion the boys did not stop with an ordinary