第7章

"Why，Colton。Hewasinhereyesterday。Openedwhathecalledahouseholdaccount；thatwashismainbusiness。Butheaskedaboutyou，alongwithit。"

Thisexplainedsomethings。ItwasclearnowwhySmallhadappearedsointerested。"Oh！"Isaid。

"Youbethedid。WantedtoknowifIknewyou，andwhatyouwere，andsoon。ItoldhimIknewyouprettywell。’Whatsortofafellowishe？Adamnfool？’heasked。Istrainedthetruthenoughtosayyouwereaprettygoodfellowandalongwaysfromthatkindofafool，accordingtomyreckoning。’Umph！’sayshe。’Isherich？’ItoldhimIguessedyouwan’tsorichthatyougotround—

shoulderedluggingyourmoney。’Why？’saysI，gettingcurious。

’Haveyoumethim，Mr。Colton？Ifyouhaveyououghttohavesizedhimupyourself。Ialwaysheardyouwereaprettyfairjudge。’Helookedatmekindoffunny。’IthoughtIwas，’sayshe，’butyouseemtoraiseanewvarietydownhere。’ThenIguesshethoughthe’dsaidenough。Atanyrate，hewalkedoff。Whatdidyouandhesaytoeachother，Ros？"

Ididnotanswerimmediately。WhenIdidtheanswerwasnon—

committal。"Oh，wehadabusinessinterview，"Isaid。

Henodded。"Well，"heobserved，"Isupposeit’syouraffairandnotmine。But，Itellyouthis，Ros：ifit’swhatIsupposeitis，it’llbeeverybody’saffairprettysoon。"

"Youthinkso，doyou？"

"Iknowso。Cap’nJed’safighterandheisonthewarpath。Thetwosidesareliningupalready。Whicheverwayyoudecideyou’llmakeenemies，ofcourse。"

Ishruggedmyshoulders。Theprospectofenemies，moreorless，inDenboro，didnottroubleme。

"Butyou’llhavetodecide，"hewenton，"whoyou’llsellto。"

"Ornotsellatall，"Isuggested。

"Canyouaffordtodothat？There’llbemoney——awholelotofmoney——inthisbeforeit’sover，ifIknowtheleadersonbothsides。You’vegotthewhip—hand。There’llbemoneyinit。Canyouaffordtoletitslip？"

Ididnotanswer。Suddenlyhisexpressionchanged。Helookedhaggardandcare—worn。

"BytheAlmighty，"hesaid，betweenhisteeth，andwithoutlookingatme，"IwishIhadyourchance。"

"Why？"

"Oh，nothing，nothing……How’syourmothernowadays？"

Itoldhimthatmymotherwasmuchasusual，andwetalkedofvariousthings。

"Bytheway，"hesaid，"I’vegotsomenewsforyou。Nothingsurprising。Iguessallhandshaveseenitcoming。I’mengagedtobemarried。"

"Good！"saidI，withasmuchheartinessasIcouldanswer；marriagedidnotinterestme。"Congratulations，George。NellieDean，ofcourse。"

"Yes。"

"I’mgladforyou。Andforher。She’llmakeyouagoodwife，I’msure。"

Hedrewalongbreath。"Yes，"hesaidslowly，"Nellie’sagoodgirl。"

"Whenisthe——whatdotheycallit？thehappyeventtotakeplace？"

"Inthefallsometime，ifallgoeswell。Ihopeitwill。"

"Humph！Yes，Ishouldthinkyoumighthopeasmuchasthat。Whyshouldn’titgowell？"

"Hey？Oh，ofcourseitwill！"Helaughedandrosefromhischairasseveralmencameintothebank。"I’llhavetoleaveyou，Ros，"

hesaid。"There’sadirectors’meetingthismorning。They’recomingnow。"

AsIpassedoutofthegateandthroughthegroupofdirectorsI

noticedthattheyalsoregardedmewithinterest。Two，menfromneighboringtownswhomIscarcelyknew，whisperedtoeachother。

CaptainElishaWarrenshookhandswithmeandinquiredconcerningMother。ThelastofthegroupwasCaptainJedediahDean，andhetouchedmeontheshoulder。

"Ros，"hewhispered，"you’reallright。Understand？Isayyou’reallright。"

"Thanks，"Ianswered，briefly。

"Iheardaboutit，"hewhispered。"AsePeterssaidtheGrandPanjandrumwascrankyasasharkwiththetoothachealldayyesterday。Youmusttellmetheyarnwhenwegettogether。I

missedyouwhenIcalledjustnow，butI’llbedownagainprettysoon。Youwon’tlosenothin’bythis。Solong。"

AsIcamedownthebankstepsSimEldredgecalledacrosstheroad。

"Good—by，Ros，"heshouted。"Comeinagainnexttimeyou’reupstreet。"

InallmyperiodofresidenceinDenboroIhadneverbeforebeentreatedlikethis。Peoplehadneverbeforegoneoutoftheirwaytoshakehandswithme。Noonehadconsidereditworthwhiletoaskfavorsofme。SimandAlvinwerenottobetakenseriously，ofcourse，andbothwerelookingaftertheirownpocketbooks，buttheiractionswerestrawsprovingthewindtobeblowinginmydirection。Ithought，andsmiledscornfully，thatI，allatonce，seemedtohavebecomeapersonofsomeimportance。

Butmyscornwasnotentirelysincere。Therewasacertaingratificationinthethought。Imightpretend——Ihadpretended——

thatDenboroopinion，goodorbad，wasamatterofcompleteindifferencetome。Ihadassumedmyselfaphilosopher，towhom，intheconsciousnessofright，suchtrifleswereofnoconsequence。

But，philosophyornot，thefactremainedthatIwaspleased。

Peoplemightdislikeme——asthatloftyColtongirlandherfatherdislikedme，thoughtheycoulddislikemenomorethanIdidthem——

butIcouldcompelthemtorespectme。Theyalreadymustthinkofmeasaman。Andsoon——asIwalkedhomethroughthewetgrass。

Itwasallasfoolishandchildishandridiculousasitwellcouldbe。Ideservedwhatwascomingtome——andIgotit。

For，asIcamedowntheLane，ImetOscar，thechauffeur，andacompanion，whomIjudgedtobeafellowservant——thecoachman，I

learnedafterwards——walkinginthedirectionofthevillage。Therainhadceased，buttheyworenattyraincoatsandcapsandhadthecityairofsmartnesswhichIrecognizedandenvied，eveninthem。

Thefootpathwasnarrow，buttheyapparentlyhadnointentionofsteppingtooneside，soImadewayforthem。Theywhisperedtogetherastheyapproachedandlookedatmecuriouslyaswepassed。AfewstepsfurtheronIheardthembothburstoutlaughing。Icaughtthewords，fromOscar，"foolRube"and"theoldman’llmakehimlook——"Iheardnomore，butasIturnedintothegroveIsawthembothlookingaftermewithbroadgrinsontheirfaces。

Somebodyhassaidthatthereisnothinghardertobearthanthecontemptandridiculeofservants。Foronething，youcannotresentitwithoutalossofdignity，and，foranother，youmaybeperfectlysurethattheirsisbutthereflectionoftheiremployers’frameofmind。Thisencountershookmyself—satisfactionmorethanalittle。Itangeredme，butitdidmorethanthat；itbroughtbackthefeelingIhadwhenIlefttheColtonlibrary，thatmydefiancewasnot，afterall，takenseriously。ThatIwasregardedbyColtonasjustwhatOscarhadtermedme，a"foolRube。"WhenGeorgeTaylortoldmeofthegreatman’squestionsconcerningmyfoolishness，I

acceptedthequestionasatributetomyindependence。NowIwasnotsosure。

Dorindametmeatthedoor。

"You’vehadtwocallers，"shesaid。

"So？Whowerethey？"

"Oneof’emwasCap’nJed。Hedrovedownjustafteryouleft。Hecometoseeyouaboutthatland，Ical’late。"

"Oh，yes。Irememberhetoldmehemissedmethismorning。Sohecamehere？"

"Um—hm。Himandmehadalittletalk。Heseemedtoknowconsider’bleaboutyourrumpuswithMr。Colton。"

"Howdidheknow？"

"Hewouldn’tsay，butIwouldn’twonderifhegotalotfromAsePeters。Aseandheareprettythick；he’sgotamortgageonAse’shouse，youknow。AndAse，bein’ashe’sdoin’thecarpenterin’

overtoColton’s，hearsalotfromtheservants，Is’poselikely。

Leastways，iftheydon’ttellalltheirbosses’affairsthey’reanewbreedofhiredhelp，that’sallI’vegottosay。Cap’nJedsaysMr。Coltoncal’latesyou’reafool。"

"Yes。SoI’veheard。WhatdidtheCaptainsaytothat？"

"Seemedtothink’twasaprettygoodjoke。Hesaidhedidn’tcarehowbigafoolyouwassolong’syouwasfeeble—mindedontherightside。"

Sothereitwasagain。Myimaginedimportanceintheeyesofthetownspeoplesimmereddowntoaboutthat。Iwasanimbecile，buttheymustpretendtobelievemesomethingelsebecauseIownedsomethingtheywanted。Well，Istillownedit。

"Ofcourse，"continuedDorinda，"Ididn’ttellhimyouwasfiggerin’nottosellthelandatall。IfIhad，Is’posehe’dhavethought——"

Shestoppedshort。

"Yousupposewhat？"Iasked。

"Oh，nothin’。"

Shehadsaidenough。Icouldguesstherest。Iwalkedtothewindowandstood，lookingout。Thecloudswerebreakingand，asI

stoodthere，arayofsunlightstreamedthroughariftandstruckthebayjustatthespotwherethedingyhadgrounded。Theshallowwaterabovetheflatflashedintofire。Iamnotsuperstitious，asageneralthing，butthesightcomfortedme。Itseemedlikeanomen。Therewastheonebrightspotintheoutlook。There，atleast，Ihadnotbehavedlikea"foolRube。"ThereIhadcompelledrespectandbeentakenseriously。

Dorindaspokeagain。

"Youain’taskedwhoyourothercallerwas，"sheobserved。

"Wasthereanother？"

"Um—hm。Itoldyoutherewastwo。AfterCap’nJedleftthatchauffeurfellerfromthebighousecomehere。Hefetchedanoteforyou。Here’tis。"

Itookthenote。Itwasaddressedtomeinaman’shandwriting，notthatof"BigJim"Colton。Iopenedtheenvelopeandread：

RoscoePaine。

Sir：Theenclosedisinpaymentforyourwork。Noreceiptisnecessary。

Yourstruly，B。VICTORCARVER。

The"enclosed"wasafive—dollarbill。

Istoodstaringatthenote。ThenIbegantolaugh。

"What’sthejoke？"askedDorinda，whohadnottakenhereyesfrommyface。

"This，"saidI，handingherthemoney。Shelookedatitinastonishment。

"Um—hm，"shesaid，drily。"Well，I——well，afive—dollarbillmaybeajoketoyou，but_I_ain’tfamiliarenoughwithonetolaughatit。Youdon’tlaughasif’twasawfulfunny，either。Who’sthejokeon？"

"It’sonme，justnow。

"Um—hm。I’dbewillin’tobejokedtentimesaday，atthatprice。

AndI’dundertaketolaughheartierthanyou’redoin’，too。What’sitfor？themoney，Imean。"

"It’sforsome’work’Ididyesterday。"

Shewasmoreastonishedthanever。

"Work！You？"sheexclaimed。

"Yes。Butdon’tworry；Ishan’tdoitagain。"

"Land！THATwouldn’tworryme。Whatsortofworkwasit？"

"Oh，I——Ipickedupsomethingadriftinthebay。"

"Um—hm。Isee。Somethin’belongin’totheColtons，Is’poselikely。Whywon’tyoudoitagain？Ain’ttheypaidyouenough？"

AgainIlaughed。"Theyhavepaidmetoomuch，"Isaid，bitterly。

"WhatIpickedupwasn’tworththemoney。"

CHAPTERVII

Andthat，intheend，wastheanswerIsenttoCarverwithhisfivedollars。Ispentanhourinmyroomtryingtocomposeandwriteasarcasticreplytohisnote，butIfinallygaveitup。ThenIputthemoneyinanenvelope，addressedthelatter，andsentittothebighousebyLute。Lutewasdelightedwiththeerrand。

"You’llexplaintoDorindy，willyou？"heasked。"Shecal’latesI’mgoin’tocleanthehenhouse。ButIcandothatsomeothertime。"

"Youcan——yes。"

"Doyouknow——"Luteleanedagainsttheclothespostandpreparedtophilosophize。"Doyouknow，"heobserved，"thatIdon’ttakenostockincleanin’henhousesandsuch？"

"Don’tyou？I’msurprised。"

"You’resurprised’causeyouain’tthoughtitout。That’smyway；

Ialwaysthinkthingsout。Mostfolksareselfish。Theywanttodowhattheywanttodo，andtheywantotherstowantthesamething。Iftheothersdon’twantit，thentheyliketomake’emhaveit；anyhow。Dorindyiscrazyoncleanin’。Shewouldn’tliveinadirtyhousenomore’nshe’dliveinalobsterpot。It’sthewayshe’smade。Butahenain’tmadethatway。AhenLIKESdirt；

shescratchesinitanddigsholesinittowallerin，andheavesitoverherselfalldaylong。IfyouleftittothehenswouldTHEYcleantheirhouse？Iguessnot！So，Isaywhat’stheuseofcruelizin’’embymakin’’emlivecleanwhentheydon’twantto？

I——"

"Waitaminute，"Iinterrupted。"Lute，you’rewastingyourbreath。

ItisDorindayoushouldexplainallthisto，nottome。Andyou’rewastingmytime。IwantyoutotakethatenvelopetoMr。

Carver；andIwantyoutogonow。"

"Well，I’mgoin’，ain’tI？Iwasonlyjustsayin’——"

"Sayitwhenyoucomeback。AndifMr。CarverasksyouwhyIsentthatenvelopetohimbesureandgivehimthemessageIgaveyou。

Doyourememberit？"

"Sartin。Thatwhatyoudonewan’twuthsomuch。"

"Notexactly。ThatwhatIsavedwasn’tworthit。"

"Allright。I’llremember。Butwhatdidyousave，Ros？Dorindysays’twassomethin’youfoundafloatinthebay。Ifitwassomethin’belongin’tothemColtonsI’dhavetookthemoney，nomatterwhatthethingwaswuth。Theycanaffordtopayand，ifI

wasyou，I’dtakethereward。"

"Ihavemyreward。Nowgo。"

IhadmyrewardandIbelieveditworthmuchmorethanfivedollars。Ihadlearnedmylesson。IknewnowexactlyhowIwasregardedbytheoccupantsofthebighouseandbythetownspeopleaswell。Ishouldcherishnomoreillusionsastomyimportanceintheireyes。Imeanttobereallyindependentfromthattimeon。I

didnotcare——reallydidnotcare——foranythingoranybodyoutsidemyimmediatehousehold。IwasbackinthepositionIhadoccupiedforyears，butwithonedifference：Ihadanambitionnow。ItwastomakebothsidesintheShoreLanecontroversyrealizethatGeorgeTaylorwasrightwhenhesaidIhadthewhip—hand。BytheAlmighty，theyshoulddancewhenIcrackedthatwhip！

Myfirstopportunitytocrackitcameadayortwolater，whenCaptainDeancalleduponme。Hehadadefinitepropositiontomake，althoughhisYankeeshrewdnessandcautionpreventedhismakingituntilhehaddiscussedtheweatherandotherunimportanttrifles。Thenheleanedagainsttheedgeofmywork—bench——wewereintheboathouse——andbegantobeatuptowindwardofhisproposal。

"Ros，"hesaid，"yourememberItoldyouyouwasallright，whenI

metyouatthebankt’otherday。"

"Iremember，"Ianswered。

"Yes。Well，Ical’lateyouknowwhatImeantbythat。"

Ididnotpretendignoranceofhismeaning。

"Ipresume，"Ireplied，"thatyoumeantIwasrightinnotsellingthatstripoflandtoMr。Colton。"

"That’swhatImeant。YoukeptyourpromisetomeandIshan’tforgetit。Northetownwon’tforgetit，neither。Wouldyoumindtellin’mejustwhathappenedbetweenyouandHisMajesty？"

"Notatall。HesaidhewantedtobuytheShoreLanestripandI

refusedtosellittohim。HesaidIwascrazyandaninfernalrobberandItoldhimtogotothedevil。"

"WHAT！youdidn’t！"

"Idid。"

CaptainJedslappedhiskneeandshoutedindelight。Heinsistedonshakinghandswithme。

"Bythegreatandeverlastin’！"hedeclared，betweenlaughs，"you’reallright，RosPaine！IsaidyouwasandnowI’llsweartoit。ToldoldColtontogotothedevil！Ifthatain’t——oh，IwishI’dbeenthere！"

Iwentonsand—paperingavalveplug。Hewalkedupanddownthefloor，chuckling。

"Well，"hesaid，atlast，"you’vemadeyourselfsolidinDenboro，anyhow。AndItoldyouyoushouldn’tlosenothin’byit。TheSelectmenheldameetin’lastnightandtheyfeel，sameasme，thatthatShoreLaneshan’tbeshutoff。Youunderstandwhatthatmeanstoyou，don’tyou？"

Ilookedathim，coolly。

"No，"Ianswered。

"Youdon’t！Itmeansthetown’sdecidedtobuythatstripoflandofyours。Definitelydecided，practicallyspeakin’。Nowwhat’llyousellittousfor？"

Iputdownthevalveplug。"Captain，"saidI，"thatlandisnotforsale。"

"NotforSALE？Whatdoyoumeanbythat？"

"ImeanthatIhavedecidednottosellit，forthepresent，atleast。NeithertoColtonnoranyoneelse。"

Hecouldnotbelieveit。OfcourseIwouldnotsellittoColton。

Coltonwasastuck—up，selfishcityaristocratwhothoughtallcreationoughttobelongtohim。Butthetownwasdifferent。DidIrealizethatitwasthetownIlivedinthatwasaskingtobuynow？ThetownofwhichIwasacitizen？Thinkofwhatthetownhaddoneforme。

"Verywell，"Ianswered。"I’mwillingtothink。Whathasitdoneforme？"

Ithad——ithad——well，ithaddoneawholelot。AsacitizenofthattownIowedita——a——

"Lookhere，CaptainDean，"Iinterrupted，"there’snouseinourarguingthematter。Ihavedecidednottosell。"

"Don’ttalksofoolish。Courseyou’llsellifyougetmoneyenough。"

"SoColtonsaid，butIshan’t。"

"Ros，Iain’tgotanyauthoritytodoit，butIshouldn’twonderifIcouldgetyouthreehundreddollarsforthatstrip。"

"Itisn’taquestionofprice。"

"Rubbish！Anything’saquestionofprice。"

"Thisisn’t。IfitwasIprobablyshouldhaveacceptedMr。Colton’sofferofsixhundredandfifty。"

"Sixhun——！Doyoumeantosayheofferedyousixhundredandfiftydollarsforthatlittlemiteofland，andyounevertookhimup？"

"Yes。"

"Well，youmustbea……Humph！Sixhundredandfifty！Thetowncan’tmeetnosuchbidasthat，ofcourse。"

"Idon’texpectitto。"

Heregardedmeinsilence。Hewaschagrinedandangry；hisfloridfacewasredderthanever；but，morethanall，hewaspuzzled。

"Well，"heobserved，afteramoment，"thisbeatsme，thisdoes！

Lasttimewetalkedyouwaswillin’toconsidersellin’。What’schangedyou？What’sthereasonyouwon’tsell？Whatbusinessreasonhaveyougotfornotdoin’it？"

Ihadnobusinessreasonatall。ExceptforMother’scounselnottosell，whichwasbaseduponsentimentandnothingelse，andmyownstubbornness，Ihadnoreasonatall。YetIwas，ifanything，morefirminmyresolve。

"HowabouttheLane？"hedemanded。"YouknowwhatthatLanemeanstoDenboro？"

"Iknowwhatyousayitmeans。ThetownspeoplecancontinuetousetheLane，justastheyalwayshave，solongastheybehavethemselves。Thereisnouseofourtalkingfurther，Captain。I’vemadeupmymind。"

Hewentaway，soonafter，butheaskedanotherquestion。

"Willyoudothismuchforme？"heasked。"WillyoupromisemenottosellthelandtoColton？"

"No，"Isaid，"Iwillmakenopromiseofanykind，toanybody。"

"Oh，"withascornfulsniff，"Isee。I’montoyou。You’rejusthangin’outforabigprice。Imighthaveknownit。You’reonColton’sside，afterall。"

Irose。Iwasangrynow。

"Itoldyoupricehadnothingtodowithit，"Isaid，sharply。"I

amonnoone’sside。ThetowniswelcometousetheLane；thatI

havetoldyoualready。Thereisnothingmoretobesaid。"

Heshookhishead。

"Idon’tmakemanymistakes，"heobserved，slowly；"butIguessI’vemadeone。You’reawholelotdeeper’nIthoughtyouwas。"

Somuchfortheproletariat。Iheardfromtheplutocratsnextday。

SimEldredgedroppedinonme。AftermuchwrigglingaboutthebushheintimatedthatheknewofCaptainJedediah’scallandwhathadtakenplace。

"Youdonejustright，Ros，"hewhispered。HehadahabitofwhisperingastheCaptainhadofshouting。"Youdonejustright。

Keep’emguessin’；keepemguessin’。Jed’sallupsot。Hedon’tknowwhetherhe’skeeldownoronhisbeamends。He’llbemakin’ahigherbidprettysoon。Say，"withawink，"IseeColtonlastnight。"

"Didyou？"

"Yup。Oh，Igivehimajolt。Ihintedthatthetownhadmadeyouafineofferandyouwasconsiderin’it。"

"Whatdidyoudothatfor？Whogaveyoutherightto——"

"Sshh！Don’tholler。Somebodymightbelistenin’。Icomethroughthewoodsandroundthebeachso’sIwouldn’tbeseen。Whatdoyous’poseColtonsaid？"

"Idon’tcarewhathesaid。"

"YouwillwhenItellyou。Heasmuchasofferedathousanddollarsforthatland。Mycrimps！athousand！thinkofthat！I

presumelikelyyouwouldn’ttakethat，wouldyou，Ros？"

"Sim，I’lltellyou，asItoldCaptainJed，thatlandisnotforsale。"

Itriedtomakethatstatementfirmandsharpenoughtopenetrateevenhiswoodenhead；buthemerelywinkedagain。

"Allright，"hewhispered，hastily，"allright。Iguessperhapsyou’recorrectinhangin’on。Still，athousandisalotofmoney，evenafteryoutakeoutmylittlecommission。Butyouknowbest。

Youputyourtrustinme。I’llkeepherjumpin’。Iunderstand。

Good—by。"

Hewentouthurriedly，and，thoughIshoutedafterhim，heonlywavedandduckedbehindabeach—plumbush。Hedidnotbelievemeseriousinmyrefusaltosell；neitherdidDean，orColton，or，apparently，anyoneelse。Theyallthoughtmemerelyshrewd，asharptraderdrivingahardbargain，astheywouldhavedoneinmyplace。Theymightthinkso，iftheywished；Ishouldnotexplain。

Asamatteroffact，Icouldnothaveexplainedmyattitude，eventomyself。

Yetthisveryattitudemadeadifference，aperceptibledifference，inmypositioninDenboro。InoticediteachtimeIwentuptothevillage。Isawthegroupsatthepost—officeandatthedepotturntowatchmeasIapproachedandasIwentaway。CaptainJedediahdidnotmentiontheLaneagain——atleastforsometime——buthealwayshailedmecordiallywhenwemetandseemedanxioustobeseeninmycompany。Eldredge，ofcourse，waseffusive；sowasAlvinBaker。Andotherpeople，citizensofconsequenceinthetown，whohadheretoforemerelybowed，nowstoppedtospeakwithmeonthestreet。MembersofthesewingcirclecalledonMothermorefrequently，andMatildaDean，CaptainJed’swife，cameregularlyonceaweek。SometimesshesawMotherandsometimesshedidnot，dependinguponDorinda’sstateofmindatthetime。

Lute，alwaysasortofsocialbarometer，noticedthechangeintheweather。

"Everybody’stalkin’aboutyou，Ros，"hedeclared。"Theycal’lateyou’reaprettysmartfeller。Theydon’tjustunderstandwhatyou’reupto，buttheythinkyou’reprettysmart。"

"No？"Icommented，ironically。"Lute，youastonishme。WhyamI

smart？"

"Well，theydon’tknowexactly，buttheycal’lateyoumustbe。Oh，Ihearthings。Cap’nJedsaidt’othernightyou’dmakeaprettygoodSelectman。"

"_I_would？ASelectman？"

"Yup。Heasmuchashintedthattome；wonderedifyou’dtakethenominationprovidedhecouldfixitforyou。SimEldredgeandAlvinandsomemoreallsaidthey’dvoteforyouiftheygotachance。AREyoufiggerin’tochargetollontheLane？"

"Toll？Whatputthatideainyourhead？"

"Nothin’，onlysomeofthefellerswonderedifyouwas。Yousee，youwon’tsell，andso——"