“And I find enough in my own affairs to keep me busy, Hime. But”—he turned his gaze full upon his brother—“I’ve found time to wonder why you’ve been trying to borrow money from old Sum Badger.” Hiram growled an oath, brought his chair down on its four legs with a clatter, and half rose, with a malignant eye boring the back of Avery, who was unsuspiciously swabbing his brush on the side of the van.
“Oh, it isn’t Figger-Four’s mouth this time, Hime. I’ve been drawing up Sum’s will and he told me about it and left his notes with me.”
Now that the Squire’s gaze showed that he understood the situation, Hiram’s apprehensiveness gave place to bravado.
“And what do you think of that town note that shows that your high and mighty treasurer is a—is—well, whatever the law name is, I say ‘thief’?”
“I am perfectly well able to attend to the business of my clients, and I am not prepared to discuss their private affairs just yet,” returned the Squire, tartly. “It comes pretty near bein’ a town affair, and as I’ve never gained residence anywhere else and am a voter here and have got investments here, it comes pretty near bein’ my affair, too.”
“There are good and sufficient reasons why I don’t want this old family feud carried on any longer, Hiram.” The lawyer stood up, clacked his knife’s blade shut and shoved it into his pocket.
“And I know what the reasons are and I say you’re a devilish fool to have ’em,” cried his brother.
“I have lived in this town all my life, Hiram”—the Squire preserved his temper, though the other was already bristling with wrath. “I intend to live here much longer. I am ready to resent injury just as quickly as you are. But this keeping alive an old fight, when there have been provocations on both sides, is folly and will lower us both in the estimation of the public. I say, you are not going to tramp over innocent persons to get at the object of your grudge.”
Hiram stood up and kicked his chair off the porch.
“Allow me to remind you—not to twit, but to speak the plain truth—that you seem to have waked up pretty late to the fact that you had any vengeance to attend to in this town.”