to smoke pretty nigh all the time, but wife she wanted me to quit--I
don't know as there is any use in it." A long pause followed, as he
drew a chair to the stove and seated himself. "To-be-sure, I don't
know as there's any great harm in it either." There was another pause,
while Dick also placed his chair near the stove--"and I git so plaguey
fat every time I quit."

Dick tilted back and lazily blew a soft cloud into the air. Uncle
Bobbie arose and placed the coal bucket between them. "Told mother
last night I was gettin' too fat again--but it made me sick last time
I tried it--I wonder if it would make me sick now."--A longer pause
than usual followed--then: "It's really dangerous for me to get so
fat, and smokin' 's the only thing that keeps it down. D'ye reckon it
would make me sick again?" He drew a cigar from his pocket, almost as
big as a cannon fire-cracker and fully as dangerous. "I got this t'day.
Looks like a pretty good one. It didn't use to make me sick 'fore I
quit the last time." Dick handed him a match and two minutes later the
big cigar was burning as freely as its nature would permit.

"What an awful wasteful habit it is to-be-sure, ain't it?" went on the
old gentleman between vigorous puffs. "Just think, there's school
books, and Bibles and baby clothes and medicine for the sick, and food
for the hungry, and houses and stores, and farms, and cattle, all a'
goin' up in that smoke;" he pointed with his cigar to the blue cloud
that hung between them. "If I had half the money church members burn,
I could take care of every old worn-out preacher in the world, and
have a good bit left over for the poor children. I wisht I was as young
as you be; I'd quit it fer good; but it sure does take a hold on an
old feller like me."