"Look here! I want to see Deacon Jones a minute about the prophet
Moses, and I wish you'd tell him so."

"No, I won't," replied the clerk. "He's too busy to be bothered
with-anything of that kind."

"But I must see him," said Peter; "I insist on seeing him. The fact of
the matter is, I've got a bet about Moses'--"

"Don't make any difference what you've got; you can't see him."

"But I will. I want you to go and tell him I'm here, and that I wish
for some information respecting Moses. I'll have you discharged if you
don't go."

"Don't care if you want to see him about all the children of Israel,
and the Pharaohs and Nebuchadnezzars. I tell you you can't. That
settles it. Turn off your gas and quit."

Then Peter resolved to give up the deacon and try Rev. Dr. Dox. When
he called at the parsonage, the doctor came down into the parlor.
Because of the doctor's deafness there was a little misunderstanding
when Peter said,

"I called, doctor, to ascertain if you could tell me who was the
mother-in-law of Moses."

"Well, really," said the doctor, "there isn't much preference. Some
like one kind of roses and some like another. A very good variety of
the pink rose is the Duke of Cambridge; grows large, bears early and