"Permit me to commend you," he said, "for your liberality and patriotism."
"I didn't fight in no Civil War," added the old man, emphatically; "but I ain't goin' to hev it said by nobody that Enos Walker ever profited a penny on a pole fer his country's flag."
The old soldier's smile broadened.
"Good!" he exclaimed. "That's very good. We'll stand together as joint donors of the emblem of freedom."
"And I ain't ashamed of it nuther," cried the new partner, "an' here's my hand on it."
The two men shook hands, and this time Colonel Richard Butler laughed outright.
"This is fine," he said. "I'll send men to-morrow to cut the tree down, trim it, and haul it to town. There's no time to lose. The roads are getting soft. Why, half of Baldwin's Hill is already bare."
He started toward the door, but his host called him back.
"Don't be in a hurry," said Grandpa Walker. "Set down a while, can't ye? Have a piece o' pie or suthin. Or a glass o' cider."
"Thank you! Nothing at all. I'm in some haste. It's getting late. And—I desire to make a brief call on Henry Cobb before returning home."