"That slide in copper last March must have squeezed him."
"Squeezed? I should say it did."
"It wasn't only copper."
"No, no, it wasn't only copper," assented several men.
Among the women, the more personal application of the fact was openly made.
"Poor old Anthony! It must have troubled him to know there wasn't one of his family who could look out for himself. Morris was a pleasant fellow, but after he got out of Harvard he never seemed to do much. It will come hard on Linda."
"What has the youngest boy been up to lately?"
"The same thing, I guess."
"I heard he'd been doing better since he went on the ranch."
"He couldn't get into much trouble out there."