“Yes, seems to hang to you like dollar bills do,” retorted Hiram, snapping around from the secretary and squinting over his glasses. Then he went on with his figuring, talking half aloud. Badger surveyed the back of his head for some time and then said:
“It’s about that money you want to borrow of me, Capt’in.” Badger always bestowed this title in moments when he wanted to placate.
“Then you’ve collected from Willard, have you?” inquired Hiram, gruffly, over his shoulder. “Huh, you’ve been long enough about it. Ever since last fall.”
“Well, I’ve seen the Jedge,” faltered Badger; “jest come from his office to here. He says the town can’t raise no money to take up town notes not till town meetin’ in March. He says it will be made all right to me if I’ll wait. Now he give me to understand that I’d git seven per cent, all hunky if I didn’t hurry things and—no, s’r, honest to Lucifer if I said a word about your wantin’ the money,” he expostulated as Hiram swung angrily to face him.
“I told you I’d kill you if you did,” roared Hiram. “And I didn’t, Capt’in! No, s’r, when it’s money concerned I can keep my mouth shet. Ain’t I kept it shet all these years about the Jedge havin’ it?”
“Let’s see!” remarked Hiram, with a sly look in his eye, as though he wished to test this Palermo voter. “How much money does Palermo owe, anyway?”
“I don’t have the least idee,” blandly returned Badger, crossing his knees. “We all trust the Jedge to ’tend to that. He knows.”
“So you are goin’ to let your money stay with the Judge, hey?”
“Well—blorh hum! Well, as I was sayin’, Jedge Willard seems to be perfickly square about makin’ it right and—and—well, Capt’in, nat’rally it’s—it’s bus’ness—well, to make it an object to shift you might—-there’s the taxes, too——”
“You old harker,” cried Hiram, irefully, “what you want me to say is that I’ll pay you eight per cent.! ‘You’ve been whifflin’ back and forth for two months between Judge Willard and me. I thought you got all ready to die a while ago. What are you waitin’ for—to place your money out at eight per cent, first?”