“You’ll guarantee the alteration?”
“Give a written document.”
“Then it’s a bargain.”
The planter without more delay gave Beau an order on his city factor for
the stipulated sum, and received in exchange a written document,
guaranteeing the freedom of the kitchen from any encroachment by the C.
L. R. R. Co.
Before leaving, Beau took the planter on one side and requested him not
to disclose their bargain until after the railroad was built.
“You see, it mightn’t exactly suit the views of some people—partiality,
you know.”
The last remark, accompanied by a suggestive wink, was returned by the
planter in a similar demonstration of _owlishness_.
Beau resumed his theodolite, drove a few stakes on the hill opposite, and
proceeded onward in the fulfilment of his duties. As his light figure
receded into obscurity and the distance, the planter caught a sound
vastly like 40—40—120—200.—And that was the last he ever heard of the
railroad.
_Appleton’s American Railway Anecdote Book_.