of attending to the business in hand, I came near to losing my arm under the great knife. After that I determined to be more circumspect, but nevertheless took many desperate chances that I might speak to her or gaze upon her dear form while occupied with my work. Of the two kinds of shingles, buyers were averse to cottonwood, on the ground that it would warp and, being soft, the more quickly decay. Neither of these things, however, would Mr. Hayward fully admit. "If properly seasoned, as in our case, and cut with reference to the grain, and afterward laid with sufficient lap and due regard to security of joints, a cottonwood shingle will afford protection that any man may be proud of—for the price," he would say, and truly enough. Of the prevailing belief that pine made the most serviceable shingle, he professed to think lightly. "You must not overlook the great difference in cost between cottonwood and pine," he would say to customers; "that is always an important item with poor people. Black walnut is superior in wearing qualities, and we furnish it when wanted; but if utility and cheapness are considered, cottonwood is preferable to all others." Of the outcome of our sales I do not so well remember, but in new communities, where everything is being tried, buyers do not treasure malice, as they do in older societies, against a seller if they happen not to get the very best. "Only idle men and fools can spare time to think of their grievances," Mr. Hayward was in the habit of saying, and indeed he carried this out in his own life when he got the worst end of a bargain, as he often did. Moreover, if we had a margin of advantage in the sale of our shingles, it was offset by the difficulty we had in collecting our money afterward. "Most men are like children," Mr. Hayward used to remark, when looking over our list of bad debts; "they will buy anything if too much stress is not laid on payment, and this last one cannot do if his goods are in discredit, as in our case." Of the latitude allowed traders in respect to their goods, he was always tenacious, but never to the extent of taking undue advantage of any one. "In ancient times, among trading people," he once explained, referring to such matters, "gain of every kind was thought meritorious, no matter how acquired. In our day it is different, though we are allowed to put as good a face on matters as possible, and this holds true of cottonwood shingles as much as it does of poor calico or sanded sugar. Our shingles may curve a little now and then if not properly placed, but when Jake Kilp says a boy must sit on every shingle to keep it down, he goes to the other extreme." "Yes, Klip’s a liar," Blott, who was standing by, spoke up. "Why, a willin’ boy could easily keep down two such shingles, or three, for that matter, if he was spry."