"Hain't in it to speak of."
"Will you take your hands off—if we give you your railroad and guarantee train service?"
"Can't seem to see my way clear."
"What do you gain by passing this bill? You're nothing ahead. It won't give you your railroad. It won't give you anything."
"Calc'late you're right."
"Listen to reason, man. You want something. What is it?"
"Me?... Um!... I'm a plain kind of a man, Mr. President, with a plain kind of a wife. Hain't never met Mandy, have you? Wa-al, her and me is perty contented with life. We got a good hardware store ..."
"Rot! What do you want?"
Scattergood leaned forward, his round face, with its bulging cheeks, as expressionless as some particularly big and ruddy apple.
"If you're achin' to do favors for me, Mr. President you kin drop in along about supper time. Right now can't think of a thing you kin do for me. But I'll try ... I'll spend the afternoon thinkin' over all the things you might be able to do, and I'll try to pick one of 'em out.... I got to see a hardware salesman now. Afternoon Mr. President."