Iwastiredofbeingcatechized。Ihadnotmeanttotellhimanything。NowIdecidedtotellhimall。Ifitangeredhim，somuchthebetter。
　　"IsenthimwordthatwhatIsavedwasn’tworththemoney。"
　　Tomyamazementhewasnotangry。Insteadheslappedhiskneeandlaughedaloud。
　　"Ho！ho！"heshouted。"Humph！Well，thatwas……I’dliketohaveseenhisfacewhenhegotthatmessage。No，thatyoungmanwon’tdo。Hewon’tdoatall。"
　　Itwasnotformetodisputethisconclusion，evenifIhaddisagreedwithhim，whichIdidnot。Isaidnothing。Herubbedhiskneeforamomentandthenchangedthesubject。
　　"HowdidyouhappentobeontheLowerRoadatthattimeofthenight？"heasked。"I’mmightygladyouwerethere，ofcourse，butwheredidyoucomefrom？"
　　"Ileftthefestivalratherlateand——"
　　"Festival？Oh，thatthingupatthechurch。Ididn’tseeyouthere。"
　　Ihadtakenpainsthatheshouldnotseeme。
　　"Doyoumeantotellme，"hecontinued，"thatyouenjoyathinglikethat？WhatinblazesmadeMabelwanttogoIdon’tsee！SheandCarverweresetongoing；anditwouldbethetreatofalifetime，orwordstothateffect。Ican’tseeitmyself。OfallthewoodenheadedjaysIeverlaideyesonthistownholdsthefinestcollection。Narrowandstubbornandblindtotheirowninterests！"
　　ThiswasmorelikewhatIexpectedfromhimandIresentedit。ItmayseemoddthatI，ofallpersons，shouldhavetakenuponmyselfthedefenseofDenboroanditsinhabitants，butthatiswhatIdid。
　　"Theyarenomorenarrowandstubbornintheirwaythancitypeopleareintheirs，"Ideclared。"Theyresentbeingorderedaboutasiftheiropinionsandwishescountedfornothing，andIhonorthemforit。"
　　"Do，hey？"
　　"Yes，Ido。Mr。Colton，Itellyouthatyouareallwrong。Simplybecauseamanlivesinthecountryitdoesnotfollowthatheisablockhead。NooneinDenboroisrich，asyouwouldcountriches，butplentyofthemareindependentandasknohelpfromanyone。
　　Youcan’tdrivethem。"
　　"Can’tI？"
　　"No，youcan’t。Andifyouwantfavorsfrommenhereyoumustaskforthem，nottrytobully。"
　　"Idon’twantfavors。Iwanttobetreateddecently，that’sall。
　　WhenIcamehereIintendeddoingthingstohelpthetown。I
　　shouldhaveenjoyeddoingit。Itoldsomeofthemso。LookatthemoneyI’vespent。LookatthetaxesI’llpay。Why，theyoughttobegladtohavemehere。Theyoughttowelcomeme。"
　　"Sotheywouldifyouhadnotbehavedasifyouwerewhatsomeofthemcallyou——’EmperorofNewYork’。Itellyou，Mr。Colton，you’reallwrong。Iknowthepeoplehere。"
　　"So？Well，fromwhatI’vebeenabletolearnaboutyou，youhaven’tassociatedwithmanyofthem。You’vebeenplayingalittleatthehighandmightyyourself。"
　　Chickensdocomehometoroost。Myattitudeofindifferenceandcoldnesstowardmyfellowcitizenshadbeenmisinterpreted，asitdeservedtobe。GeorgeTaylorwasrightwhenhesaidIhadmadeamistake。
　　"Ihavebeenfoolish，"Isaid，hotly，"butnotforthereasonyousuppose。Idon’tconsidermyselfanybetterthanthepeoplehere——
　　no，noreventheequalofsomeofthem。And，fromwhatIhaveseenofyou，Mr。Colton，Idon’tconsideryouthat，either。"
　　Eventhisdidnotmakehimangry。HelookedatmeasifIpuzzledhim。
　　"Say，Paine，"hesaid，"whatintheworldareyoudoingdowninaplacelikethis？"
　　"Whatdoyoumean？"
　　"Justthat。Youupsetmycalculations。IthoughtIspottedyouandputyouintheclasswhereyoubelongedwhenyouandIfirstmet。Icanusuallysizeupaman。You’vegotmeguessing。Whatareyoudoingdownhere？You’renoRube。"
　　IfheintendedthisasacomplimentIwasnotinthemoodtoacceptitassuch。IshouldhavetoldhimthatwhatIwasorwasnotwasnobusinessofhis。Buthewentonwithoutgivingmetheopportunity。
　　"You’vegotmeguessing，"herepeated。"Youtalklikeaman。Thewayyoulookedoutformydaughterlastnightandtheway，accordingtoherstory，youhandledherandVictortheotherafternoonwasaman’sjob。Whyareyouwastingyourlifedownhere？"
　　"Mr。Colton，Idon’tconsider——"
　　"Nevermind。You’reright；that’syouraffair，ofcourse。ButI
　　hatetoquittillIhavetheanswer，andnobodyaroundhereseemstohavetheanswertoyou。Readytosellmethatlandyet？"
　　"No。"
　　"Goingtoselltothepublic—spiritedbunch？Deanandtherest？"
　　"No。"
　　"Youmeanthat？Allright——allright。Say，Paine，IadmireyournerveagooddealmorethanIdoyourjudgment。YoumustunderstandthatIamgoingtoclosethatfoolLaneofyourssometimeorother。"
　　"Yourunderstandingandminedifferonthatpoint。"
　　"Possibly，butthey’llagreebeforeI’mthrough。IamgoingtoclosethatLane。"
　　"Ithinknot。"
　　"I’mgoingtocloseitfortworeasons。First，becauseit’sacondemnednuisanceandoughttobeclosed。Second，becauseImakeitapointtogetwhatIgoafter。Ican’taffordnotto。ItisdoingthatverythingthathasputmewhereIam。"
　　Therewasnothingtobesaidinanswertoastatementlikethat。I
　　didnottrytoanswerit。
　　"Whereyou’reholdingdownajoblikemine，"hecontinued，crossinghiskneesandlookingoutacrossthebay，"youhavetogetwhatyougoafter。I’mdownhereandImeantostayhereaslongasIwantto，butIhaven’tletgoofmyjobbyagooddeal。I’vegotprivatewires——telegraphandtelephone——inmyhouseandIkeepintouchwiththingsintheStreetasmuchasIeverdid。Ifanybodytriestogetaheadoftheoldmanbecausetheythinkhe’sturnedfarmerthey’llfindouttheirmistakeinahurry。"
　　Thisseemedtobeasoliloquy。Icouldnotseehowitappliedtome。Hewentontalking。
　　"Soundslikebragging，doesn’tit？"hesaid，readingmythoughtsasifIhadspokenthem。"Itisn’t。I’mjusttryingtoshowyouwhyIcan’taffordnottohavemyownway。IfImissatrick，bigorlittle，somebodyelsewins。WhenIwasyounger，justbuttingintothegame，therewasanotherfellowtryingtogetholdofaleadmineoutWestthatIwasafter。Hebeatmetoitatfirst。HewasabigtoadinthepuddleandIwasalittleone。ButIdidn’tquit。Iwaitedroundthecorner。ByandbyIsawmychance。HewasinaholeandIhadthecovertothehole。BeforeIlethimoutIownedthatmine。Itcostmemorethanitwasworth；Ilostmoneyonit。ButIhadmywayandheandtheresthadfoundoutthatIintendedtohaveit。ThatwasworthalotmorethanIlostinthemine。NowthisLanepropositionisalittlebitofathing；
　　it’spicayune；IshouldliverightalongifIdidn’tgetit。ButbecauseIwantit，becauseI’vemadeupmymindtohaveit，I’mgoingtohaveit，onewayoranother。See？"
　　Ishruggedmyshoulders。"Thisseemstomelikewastingtime，Mr。
　　Colton，"Isaid。
　　"Thenyourseeingisawayoff。Lookhere，Paine，I’mthroughfiddlingwiththedeal。I’mthroughwiththatundertakerpostmasteroranyothergo—between。Ijustwantedyoutounderstandmyposition；that’swhyI’vetoldyouallthis。Nowwe’lltalkfigures。Imightgoonbidding，andyou’dgoonsayingno，ofcourse。ButIshan’tbid。I’lljustsaythis：Whenyouarereadytosell——andI’llputyouwhereyouwillbesomeday——"
　　Irose。"Mr。Colton，"Isaid，sharply，"youhadbetternotsayanymore。I’mnotafraidofyou，and——"
　　"There！there！there！whosaidanythingaboutyourbeingafraid？
　　Don’tgetmad。I’mnot——notnow。Thisisabusinessmatterbetweenfriendsand——"
　　"Friends！"
　　"Sure。Businessfriends。I’mtalkingtoyouasIwouldtoanyotherchapIintendedtobeatinadeal；there’snothingpersonalaboutit。WhenIgetyousoyou’rereadytosellI’llgiveyoufivethousanddollarsforthatstripofland。"
　　Iactuallystaggered。IsaidwhatLutehadsaidtome。
　　"You’recrazy！"Icried。"Fivethousanddollarsforthatland！"
　　"Yes。Oh，Iknowwhatit’sworth。Fivehundredisforthelanditself。Theotherforty—fivehundredispaymentfortheprivilegeofhavingmyownway。Wanttoclosewithmenow？"
　　Ittookmesometimetoanswer。"No，"isashortandsimpleword，butIfoundittremendouslydifficulttopronounce。YetIdidpronounceit，Iamgladtosay。AfterallthatIhadsaidbeforeI
　　wouldhavebeenashamedtodoanythingelse。
　　Hedidnotappearsurprisedatmyrefusal。
　　"Allright，"hesaid。"I’mnotgoingtocoaxyou。Justrememberthattheofferholdsgoodandwhenyougetreadytoacceptit，singout。Well！"lookingathiswatch，"Imustbegoing。MywifewillthinkI’vefallenintothebay，orbeenmurderedbythehostilenatives。Nervesaremeanthingstohaveinthehouse；youcantakemywordforthat。Good—by，Paine。Thankyouagainforlastnightandtherestofit。Mabelwillthankyouherselfwhensheseesyou，Ipresume。"
　　HewasonhiswaytothedoorwhenIrecoveredpresenceofmindsufficienttorememberordinarypoliteness。
　　"Yourdaughter——er——MissColtoniswell？"Istammered。"Noilleffectsfromherwetting——andtheshock？"
　　"Notabit。She’soneofthekindofgirlstheyturnoutnowadays。
　　Athleticsandallthat。Hergrandmotherwouldhavediedprobably，aftersuchanupset，butshe’sasrightasIam。Oh……er——
　　Paine，nexttimeyougoshootingletmeknow。MaybeI’dliketogoalong。Iusedtobeabletohitabarndooroccasionally。"
　　Hestoppedlongenoughtobitetheendfromacigarandstrolledaway，smoking。Isatdowninthearmchair。"Fivethousanddollars！"……"Carverwon’tdo。"……"IwillhavetheLanesometimeorother"……"Fivethousanddollars！"……"Nexttimeyougoshooting。"……"Friends！"……"Fivethousanddollars！"
　　Oh，thiswasanightmare！Imustwakeupbeforeitgotanyworse。
　　CHAPTERX
　　MotherwastheonlyonetowhomItoldthewholestoryofmyexperienceinthe"tempest"andofColton’scall。SheandIhadalongtalk。ShewasassurprisedtohearofthefivethousanddollarofferasIhadbeen，butthatIhadrefuseditdidnotsurpriseher。Sheseemedtotakemyrefusalasamatterofcourse，whereasIwasmoreandmoredoubtfulofmysanityatthetime。I
　　knewwellenoughwhattheopinionofotherswouldbeconcerningthatsanityandIwonderedwhetherornottheymightberight。Infact，Iratherresentedhercalmcertainty。
　　"Mother，"saidI，"youspeakasiftheofferhadbeenfivecentsinsteadoffivethousanddollars。"
　　"Whatdifferencedoesitmake，Boy？"sheasked。"Ifithadbeenonlyamatterofpriceyouwouldhavesoldforsixhundredandfifty。Thatisagooddealmorethanthelandisworth，isn’tit。"
　　"Isupposeso。Butfivethousandisasmallfortunetous。Iamnotsurethatwehavetherighttorefuseit。"
　　"Roscoe，ifyouwerealoneinthismatter——ifIwerenotheretobeconsideredatall——wouldyouhavesoldtheland，nomatterwhatheoffered？"
　　"Idon’tknow，Mother。Ithink，perhaps，Ishould。"
　　"Iknowyouwouldnot。AndIknowtheonlyreasonyoufeeltherefusalmaybewrongisbecauseyouarethinkingwhatthemoneymightdoforme。DoyousupposeIwillpermityoutosacrificeaprincipleyouknowisrightsimplythatImayhaveafewmoreluxurieswhichIdon’tneed？"
　　"Butyoudoneedthem。Why，therearesomanythingsyouneed。"
　　"No，Idon’tneedone。SolongasIhaveyouIamperfectlyhappy。
　　Anditwouldnotmakememorehappytoknowthatyouacceptedabribe——thatiswhatitis，abribe——becauseofme。No，Boy，youdidexactlyrightandIamproudofyou。"
　　"Iamnotparticularlyproudofmyself。"
　　"Youshouldbe。Can’tyouseehowdifferentlyMr。Coltonregardsyoualready？Hedoesnotcondescendorpatronizenow。"
　　"Humph！heisgratefulbecauseIhelpedhisdaughteroutofascrape，that’sall。"
　　"Itismorethanthat。Herespectsyoubecauseyouarewhathecalledyou，aman。Ifancyitisanewexperiencetohimtofindsomeone，downhereatanyrate，towhomhismillionsmakeabsolutelynodifference。"
　　"Iamgladofit。Itmaydohimgood。"
　　"Yes，Ithinkitwill。Andwhatyoutoldhimaboutthetownspeoplemaydohimgood，too。Hewillfind，asyouandIhavefound，thattherearenokinder，betterpeopleanywhere。YourememberIwarnedyouagainstmisjudgingtheColtons，Roscoe。They，too，Iamsure，aregoodpeopleatheart，inspiteoftheirwealth。"
　　"Mother，youaretoocharitableforthisearth——toounworldlyaltogether。"
　　"Haven’tyouandIreasontobecharitable？There！there！letusforgetthelandandthemoney。Roscoe，IshouldliketomeetthisMissColton。Shemustbeabravegirl。"
　　"Sheisbraveenough。"
　　"IsupposepoorMr。Carverisindisgrace。Perhapsitwasnothisfaultaltogether。"
　　Thiswasatrifletoomuch。IrefusedtobecharitabletoVictor。
　　Iheardfromhim，orofhim，nextday。ImetCaptainJedDeanatthebank，whereIhadcalledtoseeTaylorandinquireconcerninghowheandNelliegothomefromthefestival。Theyhadhadadamp，thoughsafe，journey，Ilearned，andtheMethodistladieshadclearedseventy—fourdollarsandeighty—fivecentsfromtheentertainment。
　　CaptainJedenteredthedoorasIleftthecashier’sgate。
　　"Shipahoy，Ros！"hailedthecaptain，genially。"Makeportsafeandsoundaftertheflood？I’dhaveswappedmyhorseandbuggyforNoah’sArkthatnightandwouldn’thaveaskedanybootneither。
　　DidyouseeMullet’sbridge？Elnathansayshecal’lateshe’sgotwillowkindlin’enoughtolasthimallsummer。Readysplittoo——
　　thelightnin’attendedtothat。LuteRogersdon’ttalkaboutnothin’else。Ical’latehewisheslightnin’wouldstrikeyourwoodpile；thenhe’dbesavedconsider’blelabor，hey？"
　　HelaughedandIlaughedwithhim。
　　"IunderstoodPrincessColtonwasoutinthewustofit，"wentonCaptainJed。"Didyouhearhowherhorseranaway？"
　　"Yes，"Ianswered，shortly；"Iheardaboutit。"
　　"NeverstoppedtillitgothalfwaytoWestBayport。Thecoachmanhangin’ontothereinsandswearin’atthetopofhislungsallthetime。’BijeEllis，wholivesupthatway，saystheroadsmellslikeamatchfactoryevenyet——somuchbrimstoneintheair。Thegirlgothomesomehoworother，theytellme。Ical’lateherfinedudsgottheirnever—get—over。Nelliesaysthehatshewaswearin’
　　comefromParis，orsomesuchforeignplace。Well，therainfallsonthejustandunjust，soscripturtellsus，andit’strueenough。
　　Onlytheunjustinthiscasecanaffordnewhatsbetter’nthejust，aconsider’blesight。Denboro’slostapromisin’newcitizen；didyouknowit？"
　　"Whomdoyoumean？"
　　"Hadn’tyouheard？ThatyoungCarverfellershookthedust——themud，Imean——ofourroadsoffhisshoesthismornin’。Hewentawayontheuptrain。"
　　Herewasnews。"Theuptrain？"Irepeated。"Youmeanhehasgoneforgood？"
　　"Ishouldcallitforgood，forourgood，anyhow。Yes，he’sgone。
　　WenttothedepotinColton’sautomobile。Hismajestywentwithhimfur’stheplatform。Thegangthatsawtheproceedin’ssaidthegood—byswan’taffectin’。Coltondidn’tshedanytearsandyoungCarverseemedtobeprettydownatthemouth。"
　　"Butwhatmakesyouthinkhehasgoneforgood？"Iasked。
　　"Why，AlvinBakerwasthere，sameasheusuallyis，andhemanagedtobenighenoughtohearthelastwords——iftherehadbeenany。"
　　"Andtherewerenot？"
　　"Nothin’toamounttomuch。Nothin’aboutcomin’back，anyhow。
　　Coltonsaidsomethin’aboutbein’rememberedtotheyoungfeller’sma，andCarversaid，’Thanks，’andthatwasall。Alvinsaid’twasprettychilly。They’vegotitallfiggeredoutatthepost—office；
　　yousee，Carverwastocomebacktothemeetin’houseandpickuphisprincess，andhenevercome。Shestartedwithouthimandgotrunawaywith。Someofthefolkspaddlin’homefromthefestivalsawtheautogobyandheardthecrowdinsidesingin’andlaughin’
　　andhollerin’。Nobody’sgoin’tosinganightlikethatunlessthey’vegotcargoenoughbelowdeckstomake’emforgetthewetoutside。AndBeriahDoanewasovertoOstableyesterdayandhesaysit’stowntalktherethatyoungParker——theboytheautocrowdwassayin’good—bytoatthehotel——hadtobehelpeduptohisroom。No，IguesslikelytheColtongirlobjectedtoherfeller’sgettin’tightandforgettin’her，soheandshehadarowandherdad，theemperor，givehimhisdischargepapers。Soundsreasonable；
　　don’tyouthinkso，yourself？"
　　Iimaginedthatthesurmisewasclosetothetruth。Inoddedandturnedaway。IdidnotlikeCarver，Idetestedhim，butsomehowI
　　nolongerfelttriumphathisdiscomfiture。Iwonderedifhereallycaredforthegirlhehadlost。Itwasdifficulttothinkofhimasreallycaringforanyoneexcepthimself，butifIhadbeeninhisplaceandhad，throughmyownfoolishness，thrownawaytherespectandfriendshipofsuchagirl……Yes，IwasbeginningtofeelalittleofMother’scharityfortheyoungidiot，nowthathecouldnolongerinsultandpatronizeme。
　　CaptainJedfollowedmetothebankdoor。
　　"Say，Ros，"hesaid，"changedyourmindaboutsellin’thatLanelandyet？"
　　"No，"Ianswered，impatiently。"There’snousetalkingaboutthat，CaptainDean。"
　　"Allright，allright。Humph！thefellersaregettin’consider’blefunoutofthatLane。"
　　"Inwhatway？"
　　Helaughed。"Oh，nothin’，"heobserved，withawink，"only……
　　Heardanyextryhurrahin’overtoyourplacelately？"
　　"No。Captain，whatdoyoumean？"
　　"Idon’tmeannothin’。ButIshouldn’twonderiftheGreatPanjandrumandhisfolkswasremindedthatthatLanewasstillopen，that’sall。Ho！ho！Solong，Ros。"
　　Ididnotcatchhismeaningatthetime。AfewdayslaterI
　　discovereditbyaccident。Ihadbeenuptothevillageandwasonmywayhomebytheshortcut。AsIcrossedthefieldbehindSylvanusSnow’sabandonedhouse，thespotwhereMissColtonandI
　　hadwaitedontheporchthenightofthethundershower，IheardtherattleofacartgoingdowntheLane。Therewasnothingunusualinthis，ofitself，butwithitIheardthesoundofloudvoices。OneofthesevoiceswassoloudthatIcaughtthewords：
　　"Now，boys，startherup！ThreecheersfortheStarSpangledBannerandmake’emloud。Lethergo！"
　　Thecheersfollowed，uproariousones。
　　"Tryitagain，"commandedthevoice。"Andkeepherupallthewayalong。We’llshakeupthe’nerves’Iguess。Hooray！"
　　Thiswasenough。IunderstoodnowwhatDeanhadmeantbytheColtonsrealizingthattheLanewasstillopen。Iranatfullspeedthroughthescrubandbushes，throughthegrove，andemergedupontheLanedirectlyoppositetheColtonestate。Thewagon——ZebKendrick’sweircart——wasapproaching。ZebwasdrivingandbehindhiminthebodyofthecartwerefourorfiveyoungfellowswhomI
　　recognizedasbelongingtothe"billiardroomgang，"anunorganizedsocietywhosemembersworkedonlyoccasionallybutwereresponsibleformostofthemischiefanddisorderinourvillage。TimHallet，asortofleaderinthatsociety，withthereputationofhavingbeenexpelledfromschoolthreetimesandneverkeepingajoblongerthanafortnight，wasontheseatbesideKendrick，hisbacktothehorse。Zebwasgrinningbroadly。
　　Thewagoncamenearer，thehorsebarelymoving。TimHalletwavedhisarm。
　　"Now，boys，"heshouted，"let’shavesomemusic。"
　　"’Everybodyworksbutfather，Andhesetsaroundallday。’——
　　Whoopherup！"
　　Theywhoopedherup。Isteppedoutintotheroad。
　　"Here！"Ishouted。"Stopthat！Stopit，doyouhear！Kendrick，whatisallthis？"
　　Thesongstoppedinthemiddleoftheverse。Zebjerkedthereinsandshouted"Whoa！"Halletandhischorusturned。Theyhadbeengazingatthebighouse，butnowtheyturnedandlookedatme。
　　"Hello，Ros！"saidKendrick，stillgrinning，butrathersheepishly。
　　"Howbeyou？Gotquiteabandaboard，ain’tI。"
　　"Hello！"criedHallet。"It’sRoshimself！Ros，you’reallRIGHT！
　　Hi，boys！let’sgivethreecheersforthefellerthatdon’ttoadytonobody——millionairesnornobodyelse——hoorayforRosPaine！"
　　Thecheeringthatfollowedwasnotquiteasloudasthepreviousoutburst——someofthe"gang"mayhavenoticedmyattitudeandexpression——butitwasloudenough。InvoluntarilyIglancedtowardtheColtonmansion。Isawnooneatthewindowsorontheveranda，andIwasthankfulforthat。Thebloodrushedtomyface。Iwassoangrythat，forthemoment，Icouldnotspeak。
　　TimHalletappearedtoconsidermysilenceandmycrimsoncheeksasacknowledgmentsofthecomplimentjustpaidme。
　　"Cal’latetheyheardthatoveryonder，"hecrowed。"Don’tyouthinkso，Ros。We’veshowed’emwhatwethinkofyou；nowlet’sgiveouropinionofthem。ThreegroansforoldColton！Comeon！"
　　EvenZebseemedtoconsiderthisasgoingtoofar，forheprotested。
　　"Holdon，Tim！"hecautioned。"Ajoke’sajoke，butthat’salittletoomuch；ain’tit，Ros。"
　　"Toomuchbedarned！"scoffedHallet。"We’llshow’em！Now，boys！"
　　Thegroanswerenotgiven。Isprangintotheroad，seizedthehorsebythebridleandbackedthewagonintothebank。Tim，insecurelybalanced，fellofftheseatandjoinedhiscomradesonthecartfloor。
　　"Hi！"shoutedthestartleddriver。"Whatyoudoin’，Ros？What’sthatfor？"
　　"Yougobackwhereyoucomefrom，"Iordered。"Turnaround。Getoutofhere！"
　　Isavedhimthetroublebycompletingtheturn。WhenIdroppedthebridlethehorse’sheadwaspointingtowardtheLowerRoad。
　　"Nowgetoutofhere！"Irepeated。"Gobackwhereyoucomefrom。"
　　"But——but，Ros，"protestedZeb，"Idon’twanttogoback。I’mgoin’totheshore。"
　　"Thenyou’llhavetogosomeotherway。Youcan’tcrossmyproperty。"
　　Hallet，onhisknees，lookedoutovertheseat。
　　"What’sthematterwithyou？"heasked，angrily。"Didn’tyousaythetowncouldusethisLane？"
　　"Yes。Anyonemayuseitaslongashebehaveshimself。Whenhedoesn’tbehaveheforfeitstheprivilege。Kendrick，youhearme！
　　Goback。"
　　"ButIdon’twanttogoback，Ros。IfIdoI’llhavetogoclearroundbyMyrick’s，twomileoutofmyway。"
　　"Youshouldhavethoughtofthatbeforeyoubroughtthatcrowdwithyou。Iwon’thavethisLanemadeapublicnuisancebyanyone。
　　Zeb，I’mashamedofyou。"
　　Zebturnedtohispassengers。"There！"hewhined，"Itoldyouso，Tim。Isaidyouhadn’toughttoactthatway。"
　　"Aw，whatareyougivin’us！"sneeredHallet。"Youthought’twasasfunnyasanybody，ZebKendrick。Lookhere，RosPaine！I
　　thoughtyouwasdownonthemColtons。Wefellersareonlyhavin’alittlefunwith’emforbein’sostuck—upandhoggish。Can’tyoutakeajoke？"
　　"Notyourkind。Goback，Zeb。"
　　"But——butcan’tIusetheLaneNOmore？"pleadedthedriver。"I
　　won’tfetch’emhereagin。"
　　"We’llseeaboutthat。Youcan’tuseitthistime。Nowgo。"
　　Zebreluctantlyspoketohishorseandthewagonbegantomove。
　　Halletsworeastringofoaths。
　　"I’montoyou，Paine！"heyelled。"You’restandin’inwith’em，afterall。YouwaittillIseeCaptainJed。"
　　InthreestridesIwasabreastthecart—tail。
　　"Seehimthen，"saidI。"AndtellhimthatifanyoneusesthisLaneforthepurposeofwilfullyannoyingthoselivingnearitI’llnotonlyforbidhisusingit，butI’llprosecutehimfortrespass。
　　Imeanthat。Stop！Iadviseyounottosayanotherword。"