He took up the jar of honey and fondled it, with his face looking like
he was laying a loved one to rest, and said he wouldn't mind going into
something new himself if he could be sure it was sound, because the stock
business at present was a dog's life. He said the war was to be won by
food, and every patriot should either go across or come across, and he
was trying to stand by the flag and save all the food he could, but by
the way his help acted at mealtime you'd think they was a gang of German
spies. Watch 'em eat beans, he said, and you'd think they'd never heard
that beans had gone from three cents a pound to sixteen; but they had
heard it, because he'd told 'em so in plain English more than once. But
it had no effect. The way they dished into 'em you'd think we'd been
endowed with beans the same as with God's own sunlight.

He said it was discouraging to a staunch patriot. Here was the President
trying to make democracy safe for the world, and he was now going to
stand by the Administration even if he had voted the Republican ticket
up to now; but three of his men had quit only yesterday and the war was
certainly lost if the labouring classes kept on making gods of their
stomachs that way. And as a matter of fact now, as between old friends
and neighbours, if I had something that looked good, why not keep it all
together just with us here in the valley, he, though a poor man, being
able to scrape up a few thousand dollars in round numbers for any
enterprise that was a cinch.

And the old hound being worth a good half million dollars at that
instant! But I kept control of my face and looked still more worried
and important and said I might have to take in a good man, and then
again I might not. I couldn't tell till I got some odd lots of stock
cleaned up. Then I looked at some more documents and, like I was talking
unconsciously to myself, I muttered, though distinctly: "Now that there