And John refused it.
Captain Obed, much disturbed, questioned his friend.
"Land of love, John!" he said. "Here you've been roostin' here, lookin'
out of this window and prayin' for a job to come along. Now one does
come along and you turn it down. Why?"
Kendrick laughed. "I'm cursed with a strong sense of contrast, Captain,"
he replied. "Those crutches are too straight for me."
The captain stared. "Straight!" he repeated. "All crutches are straight,
ain't they?"
"Possibly; but some cripples are crooked."
So it was to Mr. Daniels, after all, that the damage suit came, and
Heman brought about a three-hundred-dollar settlement. Most of East
Wellmouth pronounced Kendrick "too pesky particular," but in some
quarters, and these not by any means the least influential, his attitude
gained approval and respect. This feeling was strengthened by his taking
Edgar Wingate's suit against that same railroad. Edgar's woodlot was
set on fire by sparks from the locomotive and John forced payment, and
liberal payment, for the damage. Other cases, small ones, began to
come his way. Lawyer Daniels had enemies in the community who had been
waiting to take their legal affairs elsewhere.
Heman still professed entire indifference, but he no longer patronized
his rival. John had a quiet way of squelching such patronage and of
turning the laugh, which was annoying to a person lacking a sense of
humor. And then, too, it was quite evident that Emily Howes' liking for
the younger man displeased Daniels greatly.
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