to season, I discovered it was the best year I'd ever put in, an'
while I hadn't got overly well acquainted with Spike, I had become
mighty friendly with myself and was surprised to find out how much
the' was to me.

Did you ever think of that? You start out an' a feller comes along
an' throws an opinion around your off fore foot an' you go down in a
heap an' that opinion holds you fast for some time. When you start
on again another feller ropes you with a new opinion, an' the first
thing you know you are all cluttered up an' loaded down with other
fellers' opinions, an' the' ain't enough o' your own self left to
tell what you're like; but after that winter with Spike I was pretty
well able to dodge an opinion until I had time to learn what it
meant.

But the main good I got out of Spike was learnin' how to take old
Cast Steel Judson. It was some years after this before I met up with
him; but the good effect hadn't worn off and me an' Cast Steel just
merged together like butter an' a hot penny. I wasn't much more 'an
a kid even then, but law! I wish I knew just half as much now as I
thought I did then. My self respect was certainly a bulky article
those days an' I wasn't in the habit of undervaluin' my own
judgment--not to any great extent; but that habit o' study I'd
formed with Spike was my balance wheel, an' I generally managed to
keep my conceit from shuttin' out the entire landscape. The' wasn't
a great deal escaped my eye, 'cause I begun to notice purty tol'able
young that experience is consid'able like a bank account: takes a
heap o' sweat to get her started, but she's comfortable to draw on
in a pinch.