Well, sir, a couple of weeks after that Mr. Kinderhook came into the store and says, “Can I have a sign printed here?”
“You kin,” says Catty, and he called his father. “This gentleman,” says he, “wants to have a sign painted.”
“I want a very large sign, sir,” says Mr. Kinderhook, beaming at Mr. Atkins like he wanted to kiss him. “I want it erected on a piece of property I have arranged to purchase as the site of my factory. The sign is to be ten feet high and thirty feet long, and I wish to have it white with enormous black letters—do you get the idea?”
“Want the letters to spell anythin’?” says Mr. Atkins, interested-like, “or was you jest figgerin’ on any letters at all put on helter-skelter?”
Mr. Kinderhook looked at him kind of funny a minute, and then he says: “I want the following words lettered: ‘This Is the Site of the Kinderhook Farm Utilities Corporation. Our Enormous Factory Will Be Completed January First.’ Can you manage it, my good man?”
“I kin,” said Mr. Atkins. “I calc’late I could put ’most anything onto sich a sign. I kin put that on easy. If you want, I kin put on somethin’ real hard.”
“That will do very well,” says Mr. Kinderhook, and he turned to walk toward the door.
“Was you calc’latin’ on payin’ for it?” says Mr. Atkins.
“Certainly—certainly.”
“Um!... Int’rested to know how much it ’ll cost you?”