human
This line of yours, said he,
gpt
Why not?
human
It _has_ paid us, said Tom Selden.
gpt
Why, we've only been working it five days, on regular business, and we've cleared--well, we've cleared considerable.
human
That may be, said the manager, smiling,
gpt
That was Harry,
human
So I supposed, said Mr. Martin;
gpt
That's true, said Harry.
human
Crooked Creek doesn't give much notice when it's going to rise.
gpt
No, it don't, continued Mr. Martin.
human
And it won't do, either, for any one of you to live on the other side, just to be ready to work the line in time of freshets. The creek isn't up often enough to make that pay.
gpt
But what can we do? asked Harry.
human
You surely don't think we're going to give up this telegraph line just as it begins to work, and after all the money that's been spent on it, and the trouble we've had?
gpt
No, I don't think you are the kind of fellows to give up a thing so soon, and we don't want you to give it up, for it's been a great deal of use to us already. What I think you ought to do is to run your line from the other side of the creek to Hetertown. Then you'd have no trouble at all. When the creek was up you could go down and work this end, and an arrangement could easily be made to have the operator at Hetertown work the other end, and then it would be all plain sailing. He could send the telegrams right on, on the regular line, and there would be no trouble or expense with messengers from the creek over to Hetertown.
human
That would be a splendid plan, said Harry;
gpt
It wouldn't cost very much, said Mr. Martin.
human
There are pine woods nearly all the way, by the side of the road, and so it wouldn't cost much for poles. And you've got the instruments for that end of the line. All you'll have to do would be to take them over to Hetertown. You wouldn't have to spend any money except for wire and for trimming off the trees and putting up the wire.
gpt
But that would be more than we could afford, said Tom Selden.
human
You ought just to try to make the people about here subscribe to anything, and you'd see what trouble it is to raise money out of them.
gpt
Oh, I don't think you need let the want of money enough to buy a few miles of wire prevent your putting up a really useful line, said Mr. Martin;
human
If you'd help, that would make it altogether another thing, said Harry;
gpt
Well, we would help a good deal, said Mr. Martin.
human
It would be to our benefit, you know, to have a good line. That's what we want, and we're willing to put some money in it. I suppose there'd be no difficulty in getting permission to put up the line on the land between the creek and Hetertown?
gpt
Oh, no! said Harry.
human
A good part of the woods along the road belong to father, and none of the people along there would object to us boys putting up our line on their land.
gpt
I thought they wouldn't, said Mr. Martin.
human
I'll talk to our people about this, and see what they think of it.
gpt
Mr. Martin's a trump, isn't he? I hope the rest of the mica-mine people will agree with him.
human
I don't believe they will, said Tom.
gpt
Why, you see they'd have to pay for the whole thing, and I reckon they won't be in a hurry to do that. But wouldn't we have a splendid line if they were to do it?
human
I should say so, said Harry.
gpt
It's almost too good a thing to expect. I'm afraid Mr. Martin won't feel quite so generous when he calculates what it will cost.
human
in the creek. The committee which had charge of this collection labored very faithfully for some time, and before and after school and during the noon recess, the members thereof made frequent visits to the houses of the company's debtors. As there were not more than half-a-dozen debtors, it might have been supposed that the business would be speedily performed. But such was not the case. Mr. Darby, the storekeeper, paid his bill promptly; and old Mr. Truly Matthews, who had telegraphed to Washington to a nephew in the Patent Office Department,
gpt
paid what he owed on the eighth visit of Wilson Ogden to his house. He had not seen
human
for his nephew had not answered him, either by telegraph or mail, and he was in no hurry to pay up, but he could not stand