"'What do ye get for 'em ?' I asked.
"'Two dollars an' ten cents a barrel,' says he.
"The next time I went into Sam's store there were the same red apples that came out o' that orchard in the northern part o' the county.
"'How much are these apples?' I says.
"'Seven dollars a barrel,' says Sam.
[Illustration: Seven dollars a barrel.]
"'How is it that you get seven dollars a barrel an' only return two dollars an' ten cents to the grower?' I says.
"Sam stuttered an' changed color. I'd been his lawyer for years, an' I always talked plain to Sam.
"'Wal, the fact is,' says he, with a laugh an' a wink, 'I sold these apples to my clerk.'
"'Sam, ye're wastin' yer talents,' I says. 'Go into the railroad business.'