the subject, "Have you ever picked wild strawberries in the fields, Mr.
Crane?"

"I have," answered the other man, showing no surprise at the break, for
life in Brookfield had accustomed him to disjointed deals.

"Did you ever notice that going down wind you could see the berries
better?"

Crane thought for a moment. "Yes, that's right; coming up wind the
leaves hid them."

"Just so," commented Porter; "and when a man's got a trainer he's nearly
always working up wind with him."

"The trainer hides things?" queried Crane.

"Some do. But the outsiders walking down wind see the berries."

And the Banker pondered for a minute, then he said, "Whose garden are
the berries in, Mr. Porter, yours or mine?"

"Well, you've always been a good friend of mine, Mr. Crane," Porter
answered, evasively.

"I see," said the other, meditatively; "I understand. I'm much obliged.
If I thought for an instant that any trainer wasn't dealing perfectly
straightforward with me, I'd have nothing more to do with him--nothing
whatever."