"You ought to go once, Barney, if only to show the minister that you're
rightly grateful to him for showing you about them there books and
figures and a-pointing out your mistakes to you. And anyhow, if you
don't go, you'll be hanging out in that there pool-room, and first
thing you know you won't be decent and respectable and Billy'll have to
fire you."

"What do you know about that there poolroom, Mr. Lolly?" demanded
Barney.

"Never mind. I know what I know. You're trying to be smart and I'm
surprised. I've heard of your kid doings in that place and I'm
surprised, that's what I am. You don't see Billy Evans trying to make
money in cute ways over night. No, sir! He does a day's work for a
man and throws in a little for good measure before he takes a day's
wages. And he don't do business behind closed doors and thick
curtains, neither. So just you keep out of that there poolroom or I'll
take you over to Doc Mitchell's and have every one of them there
crooked teeth of yourn straightened out."

"All right, Mr. Lolly, I'll do just as you say and go to church. It
ain't as hard as it sounds, that ain't. Because, honest, Hank, ain't
that there minister a fine guy? He's as good, I believe, as Billy. He
asked me to come on and be in his Sunday-school class and get in on
some fun. And he says to wait until he gets his barn fixed; that he'll
show us boys something. And I bet he will. Why, say, Hank, maybe he
kin do all sorts of circus stunts. You know he's from India and that's
where all the snake charmers and sword swallowers come from, ain't it?"

In this perfectly simple and artless fashion Cynthia's son went about