toward the city. Clang! the iron doors are shut, and all is obscure
again.

"Now the boat has had its supper," said Bobsey. "O dear! I wish I
could have a big hot supper."

The smoking-room door stood open, and we lingered near it for some
moments, attracted first by a picture of a great fat ox, that
suggested grassy meadows, plowing, juicy steaks, and other pleasant
things. Then our attention was drawn to a man, evidently a cattle-
dealer, who was holding forth to others more or less akin to him in
their pursuits.

"Yes," he was saying, "people in the country eat a mighty lot of
cow-beef, poor and old at that. I was buying calves out near
Shawangunk Mountains last week, and stopped at a small tavern. They
brought me a steak and I tried to put my knife in it--thought the
knife might be dull, but knew my grinders weren't. Jerusalem! I
might have chawed on that steak till now and made no impression. I
called the landlord, and said, 'See here, stranger, if you serve me
old boot-leather for steak again I'll blow on your house.'--'I vow,'
he said, 'it's the best I kin get in these diggin's. You fellers
from the city buy up every likely critter that's for sale, and we
have to take what you leave.' You see, he hit me right between the
horns, for it's about so. Bless your soul, if I'd took in a lot of
cow-beef like that to Steers and Pinkham, Washington Market, they'd
'a taken my hide off and hung me up 'longside of my beef."

"Grantin' all that," said another man, "folks in the country would
be a sight better off if they'd eat more cow-beef and less pork. You