“But he’s goin’ to.”
“He ain’t got it patented yet.”
“What of it?”
“If somebody got holt of his idee, or stole his drawin’s and got it patented f-f-first, he’d never git a thing out of it.”
“Not a dollar?”
“Not a dollar. There’s always folks tryin’ to steal inventions. Most inventors git cheated out of their money or s-some-thin’.”
THERE, CROUCHING ON THE BROW, WAS THE FIGURE OF A MAN
“Your father better be pretty careful, then,” I says.
“Careful!” grunts Mark. “You know how careful he is—and that feller was in town again.”