“Wee-wee Moore,” says Catty. “Been to his house to dinner.” “Eh?” says Mr. Atkins, opening his eyes wide. “Right in the house, at the table, with him and his Pa and Ma.” “No! I swan to man! Wa’n’t you nigh scairt to death?” “Nobody’d be scairt with Mr. Moore and Wee-wee’s mother.” “How’d it come about, Sonny?” “It was after a woman called me a tramp and other names and ordered her boy not to come near me. Mr. Moore he told her what he thought about her, and that I was his guest, and then he made me come to dinner, and we talked.” “I’d like to git a squint at that Mr. Moore,” says Mr. Atkins, reflective-like. “He’s comin’ to call on you,” says Catty. “I want to know! Um!... Calc’late I better wait for him right here in my office. Men likes to talk in their places of business. He kin set on one end of this log and I’ll set on the other. Mighty cozy. When you calc’late he’s comin’?” “Maybe to-day.” “Um!... Don’t call to mind havin’ a caller these fifteen year. Guess maybe I better comb out my whiskers.” “Dad,” says Catty. His father turned to look at him, and saw that Catty’s face was kind of sober and set. “What is it, Sonny?” “Did you ever figger any on settlin’ in one place, Dad?” “Can’t say’s I have. There’s things ag’in’ it. When you’re settled you hain’t on the move, be you? Nobody could claim you was, I guess. And, take the opposite, when you’re always on the move you hain’t settled in one place.” He sat back and eyed us like he was mighty proud of figuring a thing out that way. “Do you like movin’ so much, Dad, that you couldn’t be contented to settle?” “Movin’ about’s an occupation, Sonny—a reg’lar profession like law or storekeepin’. There’s got to be folks in all trades, or business would go _smash_! Every feller ought to do what he kin do best, and the best thing I ever done was bein’ shiftless and moggin’ from place to place. Seems like I’m fitted for it by nature. Yes, sir, I was cut out for it. I hain’t never seen anybody that does it as thorough and conscientious as me. Now, as to settlin’ down, I hain’t had the experience, and how’s a man goin’ to succeed at a trade he hain’t had experience in?” “If I was to ask you to settle here, and say that I wanted to do it mighty bad, and that I didn’t want to move around any more, what would you say?” “I calc’late I’d ask you what the reason was.” “I hain’t sure I want to, but if I did want to there would be reasons.” “There gen’ally is reason for ’most everything a feller wants. I’ve noticed it. I’ve noticed it most special and p’tic’lar. Take a dog, for instance. He wants to chase his tail. Why does he want to chase his tail? Because he’s got reasons for it, and them reasons is that he wants to satisfy a curiosity in his mind whether he kin catch it. If you had reasons for wantin’ to stop here permanent, what would them reasons be?”