"Well," he said, gathering up the lines and glancing back at his load, "a pretty good haul for these hard times. Whoa, wait a minute. Say, General, I suppose you have heard some talk of my candidacy for the office of sheriff, and I reckon you have seen to-night whether or not I am worthy of the trust. It's always well to put in a word in time, you know. I reckon I've got you all right, Alf, and, big man, wish you could vote with us this time. Well, I'll let you gentlemen know when you are wanted at court." Old Lim and the General led their horses and walked with Alf and me; and we heard many a grunt and snort as we told of the burning of the school-house. Old Lim swore that I ought to have let Alf kill Scott Aimes, but the General sided with me. "That would have done no good, Lim," said he. "It's far better as we now have it. I am glad to see, Mr. Hawes, that you have so much discretion, a most noble quality, sir. Now as to the loss of the house, that amounts to nothing. It ought to have been set afire long ago. And I'll tell you what shall be done: A new building shall be put up at once, not of logs, but of frame, and it shall be neatly painted to show people that we are keeping up with the times. Every neighborhood about us has a fine school-house; the old log huts have disappeared, and we are going to march right in the van, sir. But I want to tell you right now that it was in those log school-houses that the greatest men in the nation have been taught; and when I see a pile of logs out in the woods I fancy that I can hear the classics lowly hummed." "Gentlemen," said old Lim, "if it was day time instead of night I would invite you to see some of the finest sport you ever run across, for I'm in the humor for it right now. But chickens have a prejudice agin fightin' at night. Many a time when I had trouble on my mind and couldn't sleep I've got up and tried to stir their blood, but they want to nod; that's what they want to do at night--nothin' but nod, unless you've got light enough, and then if you stir 'em up they'll git so mad that they'll go it smack to a finish." "Talking about those chickens?" the General asked. "Confound them, they'd have no attraction for me if it were mid-day. But pardon me. I mean simply that I take no interest in such things." Old Lim grunted. "Right here is where I git on my horse," said he. And he mounted and rode on ahead in moody silence.