set up for himself at Kenton, and he'll want some help of me; and I expect
that'll be about as much as I can manage to lay my hands on."

"Do you know who has any that he would be likely to lend?" said Mr.
Ringgan.

"No, I don't. Money is rather scarce. For your rent, eh?"

"Yes, for my rent! The farm brings me in nothing but my living. That
Didenhover is ruining me, brother Joshua."

"He's feathering his own nest, I reckon."

"You may swear to that. There wa'n't as many bushels of grain, by
one-fourth, when they were threshed out last year, as I had calculated
there would be in the field. I don't know what on earth he could have done
with it. I suppose it'll be the same thing over this year."

"Maybe he has served you as Deacon Travis was served by one of his help
last season--the rascal bored holes in the granary floor and let out the
corn so, and Travis couldn't contrive how his grain went till the floor
was empty next spring, and then he see how it was."

"Ha!--did he catch the fellow?"

"Not he--he had made tracks before that. A word in your ear--I wouldn't
let Didenhover see much of his salary till you know how he will come out
at the end."

"He has got it already!" said Mr. Ringgan, with a nervous twitch at the