Rhodes laughed. "I'd like to see any one take anything from you. They will develop it for you."
"I never seen anybody develop anything for another man, leastways a Yankee," said Squire Rawson, reflectively.
Just then Ferdy chipped in. He was tired of being left out.
"My father'll come down here and show you old mossbacks a thing or two," he laughed.
The old man turned his eyes on him slowly. Ferdy was not a favorite with him. For one thing, he played on the piano. But there were other reasons.
"Who is your father, son?" The squire drew a long whiff from his pipe.
"Aaron Wickersham of Wickersham & Company, who is setting up the chips for this railroad. We are going to run through here and make it one of the greatest lines of the country."
"Oh, you're goin' to run it! From the way you talked I thought maybe you had run it. Was a man named Aaron once thought he knew more 'bout runnin' a' expedition than his brother did. Ever heard what became of him?"
"No," said Ferdy.
"Well, he run some of 'em in the ground. He didn't have sense to know the difference between a calf and God."