Yes, but you did; you lied to him."--I felt a guilty pang--in truth, I
had felt it forty times before that tramp had traveled a block from my
door--but still I resolved to make a show of feeling slandered; so I
said: "This is a baseless impertinence. I said to the tramp--"--
"There--wait. You were about to lie again. I know what you said to him.
You said the cook was gone down-town and there was nothing left from
breakfast. Two lies. You knew the cook was behind the door, and plenty
of provisions behind her."
I never did a thing in all my life, virtuous or otherwise, that I didn't
repent of in twenty-four hours.
In conclusion, I wish to state, by way of advertisement, that medical
colleges desiring assorted tramps for scientific purposes, either by the
gross, by cord measurement, or per ton, will do well to examine the lot
in my cellar before purchasing elsewhere, as these were all selected and
prepared by myself, and can be had at a low rate; because I wish to
clear, out my stock and get ready for the spring trade.