"Ah, Doctor! Long life has made you as smooth as an old shilling and nimbler than a sixpence," Kelso declared. "And, speaking of life, Aristotle said that the learned and the unlearned were as the living and the dead."
"It is true," Abe interposed. "I say it, in spite of the fact that it slays me."
"You? No! You are alive to your finger tips," Kelso answered.
"But I have mastered only eight books," said Abe.
"And one—the book of common sense, and that has wised you," Kelso went on. "Since I came to this country I have learned to beware of the one-book man. There are more living men in America than in any land I have seen. The man who reads one good book thoughtfully is alive and often my master in wit or wisdom. Reading is the gate and thought is the pathway of real life."
"I think that most of the men I know have read the Bible," said Abe.
"A wonderful and a saving fact! It is a sure foundation to build your life upon."
Kelso paused to pour whisky from a jug at his side for those who would take it.
"Let us drink to our friend Abe and his new ambition," he proposed.
"What is it?" Samson asked.