"You come to the wrong shop, then, Mr. Bartram," said the cobbler.
"When a man's been livin' wrong all his life an' has had somethin' put
into him to make him feel like turnin' round an' livin' right, the
change that's gone on in him is so big that it'll take him about half a
lifetime to get to where he can think about anythin' else."

"Pshaw!" said the lawyer.

"You said you wanted these shoes made out of soft leather an' with
pretty thin soles, Mr. Bartram?"

"Yes, yes; make them any way you please."

Then the lawyer left the room and closed the door with a crash that
caused the new cobbler to look up apprehensively.




CHAPTER VII.


Little by little the Kimper family was made more comfortable and put in
better condition for the coming winter. Broken window-panes were
mended, though frequently only with bits of board closely wedged,
cracks in the wall were stuffed with dried grass and plastered with
mud, and clean straw replaced the dirty substitutes for beds and
mattresses. The head of the family worked hard at the cobbler's shop,
yet did not cease working when he reached home.