Lige was in my room in the court-house waiting to see a man in the court, and was bragging to me about how smart John was, and says Lige, 'He's found some earth over in Missouri--yellow clay,' he says, 'that's just as good as oatmeal, and he ships it all over the country to his oatmeal mills and mixes it with the real stuff and sells it.' I says: 'He does, does he?
Sells mud mixed with oatmeal ?' and Lige says, 'Yes, sir, he's got a whole mountain of it, and he's getting ten dollars a ton net for it, which is better than a gold mine.' 'And you call that smart ?' says I.
'Yes,' says he, 'yes, sir, that's commercial instinct; it's perfectly clean mud, and our chemist says it won't harm any one,' says he.

'And him president of the Golden Belt Elevator Co. ?' says I.'He is,' says Lige.

'And don't need the money at all ?' says I.'Not a penny of it,' says he.

'Well,' says I, 'Lige Bemis,' says I, 'when Johnnie gets to hell,--and he'll get there as sure as it doesn't freeze over,' says I, 'may the devil put him under that mountain of mud and keep his railroad running night and day dumping more mud on while he eats his way out as a penance,' says I.And you orto heard 'em laugh." Dolan went on cutting curly-cues from the leather, and McHurdie kept on sewing at his bench.

"It is a queer world--a queer world; and that Johnnie Barclay is a queer duck.