“Let’s go into the office,” says Mark.
“Never calc’lated to have much office,” says Silas. “That there room was built for one, but seems like I never had no need for it. I jest wandered around.”
“Oh!” says Mark. “Who kept the books?”
“Books?” says Silas. “Oh yes, books. To be sure—books.”
“Yes, ledgers and journals and such like.”
“Never had one.”
“How ever did you manage to git along?”
“Hain’t I been a-tellin’ you I didn’t git along? I busted.”
“But how did you run without books?”
“Why,” says Silas, “if I owed a feller he sent me a bill, and if I had any money I paid him. If a feller owed me I calc’lated he’d pay me some day, if he was honest, and I kep’ sort of track of that on these here pieces of wood. Whenever I sold a man an order I put it down here, and if he didn’t pay after a while I guessed maybe he didn’t figger to pay, so I chucked the hunk of board over into the office room. There’s quite some boards in there.”